The Marauders Era: Year 1
by equinewriter
Summary: The true story of Lily and James and the rest of the Marauders during their Hogwarts Years. This is the most canon fic of Lily and James you will find. This story is set in Year 1, and it begins the journey of Lily and James. This series will continue into Years 2-7. This is the closest to canon Lily and James story out there! Guaranteed to be a great read! Click for full summary.
1. Prologue

**Summary:** The true story of Lily and James and the rest of the Marauders during their Hogwarts Years. This is the most canon fic of Lily and James you will find. This story is set in Year 1, and it begins the journey of Lily and James. This series will continue into Years 2-7. Years 1-5 will be rather short, but Years 6-7 will certainly be much longer as Lily and James' relationship actually develops. A ton of research has gone into this story to make it as canon as possible. This story is guaranteed to be a good read.

 **A/N:** This is a new project, and it will be a bit of a long one. I plan to tell the story of all seven years of the marauders' years at Hogwarts, and maybe some snippets of their life after Hogwarts. Anyways, enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of these characters, or anything of this story. Everything belongs to J.K Rowling!

 **Prologue**

 **August 1971**

 **Cokeworth, England**

It was a perfect midsummer day. The weather was not hot, but a perfectly warm temperature that lightly toasted one's skin, with an ever so gentle wind swaying along the bright, green-leafed trees, with a cool layer lingering in the warm sunshine. The small lake that stood between two neighborhoods glinted under the dazzling sun, the water still as ice, but the surface creating gentle waves that only the sharpest of eyes could see.

And there, on the lawn of fresh green grass laid a boy from the poor end of the neighborhoods: Spinner's end. Rays of sunlight glared onto the boy's slick, greasy black hair as it lay on the grass. The boy's rather oversize, ragged gray shirt flopped in the small wind, and his baggy black pants wrinkled as the boy crossed his legs, hands behind his head, staring just below the bright sun.

A small girl walked out of the clearing from the other neighborhood, in a flowered dress, her auburn hair blazing under the glow of the sun. But most of all, it was her emerald green eyes that stood out that bore a soft, but genuine look.

As soon as the boy heard the rustle of the trees and the crackling of the grass as the girl walked towards him, he stood up, almost tripping over his pants, brushing the small flecks of grass off.

"Lily!" The boy exclaimed, a bit too enthusiastically. His pale cheeks blushed a bit, but Lily didn't notice.

"Hey, Sev," She smiled, and Severus broke out a grin.

Lily held out a clean, white envelope that had already been opened to Severus.

"Look, Sev! I got one of those letters you said I would get! I can't believe it's real!"

Severus grinned ecstatically. "I told you you'd get one! I'm so glad you're coming with me, I can't wait to get out of here."

Lily pressed her lips together, and her emerald green eyes quickly turned from ecstatic to concerned: "Are things at home still bad?"

Severus looked away over at the lake. "Yeah, but it doesn't matter, because I won't have to deal with them anymore."

Lily looked crestfallen. "I'm sorry, Sev."

Severus kept his nose up in the air. "Don't be."

He looked at her, and this time twisted his lips into a smile. "We're going to Hogwarts! Everything will be great from here!"

Lily smiled with relief. "I really am so excited!"

And as they both laid down on the grass, smiling, and talking about magic, they waited eagerly, day by day, for September 1st.


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** There are a few excerpts of dialogue taken exactly from the chapter "The Prince's Tale," in Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows, and J.K Rowling has full ownership of all those excerpts. They were only used for the purpose to keep the story canon and keep the story flowing perfectly, and are only quoted. I do not have ownership of any of them, J.K Rowling owns it all!

 **Chapter 1: On the Hogwarts Express**

 **September 1st, 1971**

 **Platform 9 ¾**

It was a busy day at Platform 9 ¾. Students were buzzing around, pushing carts, checking on their owls, and meeting with friends as parents fussed over their children and made sure they were okay.

One of these families included a scrawny boy with messy, curly, black hair and a pair of round glasses sloppily perched on his nose. He was bursting with excitement as he gripped his bags and petted his owl, his hazel eyes staring in annoyance at his mum, who was trying her best to straighten out his messy hair.

"Mum!" The boy whined. "It's not going to get any more neat! Can I just get on the train now?"

The man standing next to them laughed. "He's right, Euphemia, take it from me, that hair is too crazy to ever be neat."

Euphemia Potter glared at her husband. "Enough, Fleamont." She turned back to her son. "James, how do you expect to make friends if you can't even look like you want to make friends?"

James scowled. "Of course I want to make friends, mum." He grinned cheekily, "And I'm sure a lot of people want to make friends with me too."

Euphemia smiled, and her eyes started to water. "Oh, my baby boy is growing up so fast! He's going to be popular and not even want to talk to me!" She wailed.

Fleamont gently wrapped his arms around Euphemia. "Of course he'll want to talk to us, won't you James?"

James nodded quickly, his hair flapping around as his head bobbed up and down. "Of course, mum! If I don't talk to you, who's going to send me treats?"

Euphemia laughed and flung her arms around James tightly.

James wriggled and tried to break free of his mother's grasp, as his cheeks flushed bright red in embarrassment. "Mum! Mum, let me go! You're embarrassing me!"

"Aww, James! Tell me everything that happens at school, all right? Owl us if you ever need anything! We love you so much!" She squeezed James again.

James shrieked. "MUM!"

Euphemia let him go, and smiled at him. "Will you be all right?"

James nodded, "Yes, mum. I'll see you at winter break mum!"

And James vanished onto the train. He walked down the aisle, looking in awe as older students bustled through the aisles.

At last, he found a compartment, empty except for a boy the same age as him, leaning against the window. Like James, he had messy hair, though it was a bit more neat and tidy, and more wavy than curly.

"May I sit here?"

The boy nodded. "I'm Sirius, Sirius Black. I'm a first year. Who're you?"

"James Potter. I'm also a first year! Are you excited?"

Sirius nodded eagerly. "Very."

And then the compartment door slid open again, revealing a sandy-haired boy with a few scratches along his face. Cowering shyly behind him was a small, blond boy.

The sandy-haired boy spoke. "Is this compartment free? The other ones almost all appear to be empty."

James and Sirius nodded, and the two boys entered.

"I'm Remus, Remus Lupin, by the way. First-year," the sandy-haired boy said. "And this is Peter." He pointed to the small blonde boy beside him. "I found him in the aisle, looking a little lost. What's your last name again?"

The boy blushed and in a small voice, muttered "Pettigrew."

"Ah," Remus said.

"Pleasure to meet you," James and Sirius chirped.

And the boys dove into deep conversation, although Remus and Peter were rather shy, while outside on the platform, Severus and Lily stood with their families.

Severus watched Lily from next to his mother, who looked sour.

Lily, on the other hand, was pleading with her sister, a thin, rather tall girl for her age, with straight light brown hair, her nose tipped into the air. Lily was gripping her sister's wrist, even though her sister was trying very willingly to break free.

"I'm sorry, Tuney, I'm sorry! Listen! Maybe once I'm there - no, listen, Tuney! Maybe once I'm there, I'll be able to go to Professor Dumbledore and persuade him to change his mind!"

Petunia glared at Lily coldly. "I don't - want - to - go!" She shrieked as she jerked her hand out of Lily's. "You think I want to go to some stupid castle and learn to be a - a - you think I want to be a - a freak?"

Lily's throat caught and tears began to leak out of her eyes. "I'm not a freak. That's a horrible thing to say."

Petunia's cold glare didn't falter. "That's where you're going, a school for freaks. You and that Snape boy...wierdos, that's what you two are. It's good you're being separated from normal people. It's for our safety."

"You didn't think it was such a freak's school when you wrote to the headmaster and begged him to take you."

If possible, Petunia's eyes turned more angry. "Beg? I didn't beg!"

"I saw his reply. It was very kind."

"You shouldn't have read - that was my private - how could you?"

Lily eyes flicked towards Snape, but quickly looked back.

But it was too late, Petunia had seen. "That boy found it! You and that boy have been sneaking in my room!"

"No - not sneaking - Severus saw the envelope, and he couldn't believe a Muggle could have contacted Hogwarts, that's all! He says there must be wizards working undercover in the postal service who take care of - "

"Apparently wizards poke their noses in everywhere!" Petunia exclaimed angrily. "Freak!" She spat. And with that, she went to her parents, and turned away from Lily.

Heartbroken, Lily said one last goodbye to her parents and grudgingly walked onto the train.

Lily suddenly felt a slight sense of panic as she was surrounded by taller students, without a single clue where to go.

She felt a tap on her shoulder.

Relieved, she saw Severus smiling at her. And then she suddenly felt a cold, gloating feeling as she remembered why Petunia was so mad at her.

"Come on! Let's find a compartment," Severus said.

Lily wanted to say no, wanted to yell at Severus for ruining Petunia's trust in her, but she didn't know anywhere else to go, so she begrudgingly followed Severus into a compartment.

Four boys, two of them especially loud, were already in the compartment, but they were small so Lily and Snape settled in with them anyways.

Lily avoided looking at Severus, who was starting to notice how quiet she was. "All right, Lily?" He asked awkwardly as the train began to move.

Lily ignored his question.

Severus squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. He wasn't sure how to talk to her. "Well, I'm gonna go change into my robes. I'll come back later."

Lily continued to stare hard at the window.

Severus quickly grabbed his robes and slid out the compartment.

When he was finished, he felt a new sense of excitement. Being out of his muggle clothes made him feel so good. He was so glad to be away from the constant disputes in his house, and was determined to make Hogwarts his new home.

He slid back into the compartment, and then remembered Lily was still not talking.

He sat across from her, and she quickly glanced at him before looking out the window again.

It was from that brief moment she had turned her head to him that he noticed she had been crying.

"I don't want to talk to you," she said in a constricted voice.

"Why not?" Severus asked, feeling his heart sink.

"Tuney h-hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore."

Severus tried not to roll his eyes. He did not understand why Lily was so obsessed with making Tuney happy. If she were his sister, he would just ignore the annoying prat completely. "So what?"

Lily immediately glowered at him. "So she's my sister!"

"She's only a -" But Severus quickly stopped his protest. He figured he had somehow made Lily upset enough, and decided to move on to a brighter subject. "But we're going!" he said excitedly. "This is it! We're off to Hogwarts."

Lily looked back at him. She suddenly felt guilty, and at his words, she returned the excitement. She figured she should brighten up as well. She wiped her eyes and smiled.

Snape grinned. He'd done it! He'd made her feel better. "You'd better be in Slytherin!:

She smiled curiously. "Slytherin?"

It was then that James and the rest of the boys were fully aware that Lily and Severus were also in the compartment.

He grinned. "Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" He asked Sirius.

Sirius did not return James' wide smile. "My whole family have been in Slytherin," he stated flatly.

"Blimey, and I thought you seemed all right!" James exclaimed.

Sirius started to smile now. "Maybe I'll break the tradition," he said, with even a little hope in his voice. "Where are you heading if you've got the choice?"

James immediately sat himself up to full composure, raising his hand so that he held an invisible sword. "Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart! Like my dad!"

Severus gagged, and James immediately turned around to see who disapproved of him.

"Got a problem with that?" James asked incredulously.

The slightest sneer enveloped on Severus' pale face. "No," he said lazily. "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy -"

"Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" Sirius interrupted.

James started laughing, Sirius smiled with pride, and Remus and Peter continued to stay silent, although they showed glints of amusement on their faces.

Flustered, Lily sat up. "Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment."

"Oooooo…" James and Sirius mocked, as James stuck out a leg in an attempt to trip Severus. "See ya, Snivellus!"

The compartment door banged shut as the boys continued laughing.

Outside, Lily and Severus dragged their belongings along with them as they searched for a new compartment.

Both looked disgruntled, but Severus had an extreme aura of disturbance radiating from him. "I can't believe those stupid gits. Who do they think they are? You know what, I'll bet they'll wound up in Gryffindor, idiots like them! Good thing I won't have to deal with them in Slytherin."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Just ignore them, Sev. They're all just annoying prats who think they're better than everyone." She stopped in front of a compartment. "Let's go in this one."

She slid open the door to reveal a group of girls. Severus didn't look too keen, but followed her anyways.

The girls stopped chatting and smiled at Lily, but glowered a bit at Severus.

Lily smiled shyly. "Hello! I'm Lily Evans! This is my friend, Severus. Is it alright if we sit here?"

The girls all nodded.

Severus glumly sat down with Lily, having hoped that the girls would've rejected them.

"I'm Marlene McKninnon, first-year," said one of the girls, who had long, straight blond hair and crystal blue eyes. "Are you two first years as well?"

Lily smiled, "Yes. I suppose you all are too?"

The rest of the girls nodded.

"I'm Dorcas Meadowes," said a dark-skinned girl.

"Alice Prewett," a dirty blonde girl said.

"Gwenog Jones," a curly haired brunette chirped.

"Emmeline Vance," a brunette smiled.

"Mary MacDonald," the last one said, who had long, light brown hair.

"Nice to meet all of you," Lily smiled warmly.

"We should probably get our robes on," Alice Prewitt said after a while of long conversation. "I assume we are close to the castle now."

The other girls nodded, and they took turns leaving the compartment to change into their robes.

By the time they were all finished, the castle was looming into view. All of them crowded over the window, staring in awe at the building, towering over the vast lawn as the stars above twinkled. Even Severus stopped his act of disdain and followed them up to the window.

"Wow," Mary MacDonald breathed. "It looks even more beautiful than it sounds."

The other girls all nodded in agreement.

As the train rolled to a stop, the girls all eagerly got up. They all made to reach for their bags, but a voice spoke over the train: "We have arrived at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please leave the luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

They all obeyed, silently wondering how the bags were supposed to get up to the castle.

When they stepped off the train, a booming voice echoed in the night. "Firs' years, over here! Firs' Years, firs' years!"

Lily looked towards the sound, and saw a huge man waving his arms wildly. Students were nervously walking towards him, all with looks of terror on their faces.

Lily looked at Severus, and he nodded.

As they walked towards the giant, Severus looked at Lily with a bit of an annoyed expression, "Are you going to hang out with those chirpy girls the whole year?"

Lily looked at him with surprise. "Well, why not? Do you have a problem with it?"

"No, I just don't see why you'd want to be around with them. Too preppy if you ask me. But you sure seemed to like them."

Lily glowered at him disbelievingly. "Are you expecting me to not have any girl friends? You can't be my only friend, Sev. We both need to make friends if we want to fit in, and you know that!"

Severus glowered, but dropped the subject.

Once all the first year were gathered, the gian man spoke: "Welcome to Hogwarts, firs' years! I'm Hagrid, game keeper! Follow me!"

Still frightened, the students all followed and reached a beautiful, large lake, which was greeted by many gasps of awe.

Boats were lined along the shore of the lake, and students began filing into them. "No more 'an four ter a boat!" Hagrid yelled.

Lily slid into a boat with Severus, and two other boys, who were chatting animatedly on their own.

Severus was struggling to contain his excitement. "We're so close, Lily! Aren't you so excited!"

Lily nodded eagerly as the boats sped forward.

After reaching the other side of the lake, the first years all climbed out of the boats and followed Hagrid to the front door of the castle. After Hagrid knocked three times, the doors swung open, revealing a bright, lit castle.

All of the first years couldn't help but feel that this was the beginning of an era.


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** Per usual, J.K Rowling has full ownership.

 **Chapter 2: The Sorting**

 **September 1st, 1971**

 **The Great Hall, Hogwarts**

After Professor McGonagall gave her speech about the Sorting Hat, students nervously teetered around at the front of the Great Hall.

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and began listing off names.

The first boy Lily recognized to be called was "Black, Sirius!"

She watched as the prideful boy scrambled up to the hat, and placed it on his head. It took a bit longer than the people before him, when the hat finally yelled "GRYFFINDOR!"

The boy looked stung with surprise, but grinned widely nevertheless and hurried towards the Gryffindor table.

James Potter whooped from the group of first years, excited to see the boy he met on the train in his hopeful house.

"Diggory, Amos!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

James watched the boy run to his cheering table, and looked back up to recognize the red-head he had taunted on the train earlier.

"Evans, Lily!"

James couldn't help but notice that she was rather pretty, but much too bossy and annoying.

Severus watched intently as Lily shakily sat down on the stool and felt the shabby hat land on her head.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Severus grunted in disappointment as he watched Lily smile and flounce off to the Gryffindor table.

More names continued to be called out: "Jones, Gwenog!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Jorkins, Bertha"  
"RAVENCLAW!"

"Lupin, Remus."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"MacDonald, Mary."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"McKinnon, Marlene."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Meadowes, Dorcas!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Mulciber, Maxwell!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Pettigrew, Peter!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Potter, James!"  
"GRYFFINDOR!"

At this, James excitedly pumped his fist in the air and trotted over to where the other first year Gryffindors were sitting. He sat next to Sirius, across from Remus and Peter, and they began chatting animatedly.

"Prewett, Alice!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Alice Prewett scurried over to where her fellow Gryffindors were sitting, and shook hands with the ones she hadn't met yet.

The new Gryffindors were consumed in deep discussion, but Lily was looking curiously over to where Severus still stood in the huddle of first years waiting to be sorted.

"Snape, Severus!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

Lily watched as Severus stalked off to the opposite side of the Great Hall. She gave him a small smile, and then turned back around to her new classmates.

"I'm a pureblood," James chortled, "but my family doesn't care about blood."

Sirius snorted. "I'm pureblood too, but my family _certainly_ cares about blood heritage."

James cocked his head, "Do _you_?"

Sirius shrugged: "Not really, I don't quite understand why they obsess over it so much."

James grinned, glad that his new friend agreed with him. "What about you?" he turned to Remus.

Remus nodded, "I'm half-blood, my dad's a wizard, but my mum's a muggle."

Peter nodded, "I'm half-blood too."

"Same here," Marlene McKinnon chirped.

"My parents are both non magical," Mary MacDonald said. "They couldn't believe it when Dumbledore told us who I am."

Lily sighed in relief, worried she was the only one who was muggle-born. "Me too!" She exclaimed. "But I knew I was a witch before I received my letter."

"How come?" Mary asked curiously.

"Oh, I have a friend who is a half-blood. He recognized what I could do and told me who I was. You met him on the train!" Lily beamed.

"Who, Snivellus?" James interrupted with a smirk on his face.

Lily glared at the boy. "No, his name is Severus. And who do _you_ think you are?"

James puffed out his chest proudly: "James Potter." He brushed his hand through his hair. "Oh, and tell _Snivellus_ he needs to wash his hair real good."

Sirius laughed at James' comment, and Peter Pettigrew stifled small giggles.

Lily furrowed her eyebrows, "Well, _Potter_ , I wouldn't go around teasing everyone else. That doesn't make you any better than them."

James rolled his eyes. "So rigid!"

Lily opened her mouth to retort something back at James, but was immediately distracted when platters of food suddenly appeared on the long dining tables.

"Wow," the first years breathed, before eagerly digging in to the meal. They each stuffed dinner rolls in their mouth, or happily chewed on pork chops. When desert came, the greedy first years all "oohed" and "aahed" and proceeded to sample as many cakes, ice creams, and tarts as they could.

After the feast was over, Dumbledore stood up to give a speech, outlining the basic do's and don'ts, and wishing them good luck in the school year.

"First years, follow your prefects to your common room! Have a good nights sleep, and I will see you all in the morning!"

Two students stood up out of the crowd of Gryffindors. "First years, follow us!"

The students all got up and when finally reaching Gryffindor tower, all wobbled up to bed.

When Lily arrived in her new dormitory, she noticed that all of her belongings were, in fact, already there.

She quickly showered, changed, and collapsed onto the bed, dozing off to sleep with the thought that everything was too good to be true, and happily knowing that even so, it was definitely, absolutely, one hundred percent true.


	4. Chapter 3

****A/N:**** I will try to update this story every other day. However, when I get busy, it might turn to every two to three days. Enjoy this chapter! I quite like this one!

 ** **Chapter 3: The First Day****

 ** **September 2, 1971****

 ** **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry****

The first day of school at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry provided for a bustling, exciting day. In the Great Hall, students were pouring in, taking seats at their House's tables, and chattering conversationally about what was to come that day.

Lily Evans had woken up bright and early, and was now staring into the mirror as the other Gryffindor girls prepared for the day behind her.

Lily looked into the mirror, smoothing out any wrinkles on her outfit. She stroked the Gryffindor badge sewn onto her robes, and straightened out her red and gold tie.

Her mind was racing. It was really happening. This was it, she was at Hogwarts!

She pulled a smile into the mirror. She was determined to make this day perfect.

Lily turned around and followed her fellow Gryffindors out the dormitory, and out of the Gryffindor common room.

Mary MacDonald slid up next to her and greeted her with a warm smile. "Lily Evans, correct?"

Lily grinned, glad to be making new friends. "Yes! And you're Mary MacDonald, right?"

Mary beamed, "Sure am. I can't wait to see what's for breakfast. I wonder if all meals are as nice as the one we ate last night!"

Lily laughed. "Oh, me too!"

When they reached the Gryffindor table, Lily looked across the Great Hall, searching for a mop of black hair.

At last, she found Severus sitting awkwardly in the middle of the Slytherin table, scrunched between two tall boys. His face looked rather sour, and he looked up to catch Lily's eye.

Lily smiled and waved, and Severus immediately brightened up, waving before Lily turned back to her table.

"Saying good morning to your boyfriend?"

Lily looked up from her toast to glare at James. " _Potter_ , was it?"

James grinned, and once again, straightened up to radiate pride. "Yes, I am. And who're you? Oh, yes! Lily, isn't it?"

Lily narrowed her eyes. "It's Evans to you."

"All right, Evans," James grinned. "But don't let Snivelly see me talking to you. Wouldn't want a jealous boooyfriend!"

Lily shot him a look of deep disgust. "Leave me alone, Potter. And leave Severus alone as well."

"Whatever you say, Evans!" James chortled.

"That gorl wis sow uptight," Sirius said as he stuffed a sausage into his mouth.

"Right you are. No wonder the only boy she can get is greasy-haired Snivellus," James grinned.

"You shouldn't be so rude to her," Remus interjected. "She wasn't doing anything to you."

James scowled, and made to respond before being cut off by Professor Dumbledore.

"Welcome, students! I hope you are having a wonderful start to the first day of school! After breakfast, please collect your schedules from your Head of House! Have a great day, my dear pupils!"

Once Dumbledore took a seat, the students all shoved their last bites of breakfast in their mouths before running off to get their schedules.

The first class the Gryffindors had was Transfiguration with the Ravenclaws.

The students eagerly filed into the classroom, watching McGonagall's stiff composure at the front as they chattered excitedly about their first lesson.

"Take a seat, students, take a seat. Quickly, quickly!" McGonagall ordered.

All of the students quickly chose a seat, and took out their quills and their copy of "A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration," by Emeric Switch.

Once class began, McGonagall strided briskly to the front of the room, the end of her long robes billowing behind at her feet. "Welcome, first year students, to your very first Transfiguration lesson, as well as your first Hogwarts lesson overall."

She turned around sharply, staring at them strictly through her spectacles. "Now, students, I need you all to listen to me. Transfiguration is an extremely complex, and at times, dangerous type of magic. As a result — "

BAM!

All heads whipped around to the doors of the classroom, where four boys were scurrying in.

Lily narrowed her eyes as she watched them speed walk up to McGonagall.

James was wearing a cheeky grin on his face that utterly confused and annoyed Lily as he strode up to the front. Behind him, Sirius bore a similar expression, and behind Sirius, Remus' face was pale and his eyes were wide with fear. "I can't believe I'm late to my first lesson! I can't believe I'm late to my first lesson…" Lily heard him mutter frighteningly as he scurried forward.

Lastly, Peter Pettigrew shakily followed them up to the front of the classroom, his eyes flicking around at his fellow students in fear and embarrassment.

"Well, late to our first lesson already?"

Remus and Peter looked up at McGonagall for a brief second, and then cowered back, while James and Sirius stared up at McGonagall long and hard. "Yes, Professor, we're very sorry. We got — er, lost."

McGonagall's lips thinned and her eyes narrowed. "Uh-huh. Ten points from Gryffindor — "

"But, Professor…"

" _Each._ "

All of the Gryffindors in the classroom groaned harmoniously.

"Seriously?" "Already?" "Not fair!" Their voices whined.

"Enough!" McGonagall snapped.

Immediately, the classroom fell silent once again.

She turned back to the four boys. "What are your names?"

"James. Er — Potter."

"Sirius Black."

"R-r-remus L-Lupin."

"P-peter... Pettrigrew."

"All right. Potter, Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew — detention in my office tonight at five o'clock."

"Oh, come on, Professor—" James protested.

"We may have an additional detention tomorrow, if you'd like, Mister Potter."

James finally looked down. "Sorry, Professor."

"Take a seat, boys. You have delayed my class enough for today. As I was saying before…" And McGonagall continued her strict lecture.

After the boys' discipline, nobody dared speak, or break eye contact with the Professor.

When class ended, the students eagerly rushed out of the classroom, and began chattering the second their feet stepped across the line between the Transfiguration classroom and the hallway.

"That McGonagall's rather uptight, I reckon," James said. "Took forty points from her own house. Only somebody mad would do that."

Remus scowled. "Don't say it like that. We deserved it." He sighed heavily, staring at the end of the hall with emptiness. "How did I end up in detention on the first day? I'm a horrible student!"

"Nah, Remus. You're over exaggerating it. Everybody's bound to be in detention at least once in their Hogwarts years," Sirius quipped cheerfully.

"We got potions next?" James asked.

"No, history of magic, and _then_ Potions," Remus said, checking his schedule.

James grinned. "All right, then! Let's go this way! I think it's a shortcut!"

Remus flushed with color. "No! The last time I followed you I cost my House ten points and myself a detention! No more detours and shortcuts! I don't really know much about you, but you should know about me that I take school seriously! I must do well. I shouldn't even _be_ at Hogwarts." He added the last sentence in a quieter voice.

"What'd you mean?" James asked, but Remus had already scurried off down the hallway.

James turned around. "You care for some adventure?" He asked Peter. The small boy looked taken aback by surprise that James had spoken to him.

His eyes flickered left to right, and then he said "I think I'll just go with Remus. Er...yeah. Bye."

He awkwardly took off after Remus, and Sirius piped up. "I'll go with you! Never mind if we're late to History of Magic. I've heard it's a bore."

However, the boys were not late to History of Magic, although they wished they had been because History of Magic did indeed, turn out to be a bore.

"All right, class is over, students. Get out of my classroom now. Hurry along," Professor Binns dryly said.

Just as eager as Professor Binns that class was over, the students hurriedly rushed out of the classroom and scattered into the hallway.

"That class was s-sooo," Marlene stifled a yawn, "boring."

The other girls nodded in agreement, and Lily shrunk, having found the class quite interesting.

"Hopefully our next class will be better. What've we got?" Gwenog Jones asked curiously.

"Potions," Mary MacDonald said. "With Slytherin."

Alice Prewett groaned. "Mental, those Slytherins. Never heard of a single Slytherin who hasn't turned out rotten."

"My friend's in Slytherin," Lily said defensively. "He's not horrible at all."

"The boy on the train?"

Lily nodded.

"He didn't seem too keen on sitting with us," Marlene recalled.

"He was just put off by those two idiot boys. Potter and Black," Lily responded argumentatively.

"I think they're rather funny," Marlene said.

"I don't see what's so funny about them," Lily said, stiffening her shoulders. "From what I've seen, they're just a lot of troublemakers who think teasing innocent people like Severus is amusing."

"I haven't seen them tease anyone!"

"Well, if you were in the same train compartment with them, you would've seen how horrible they were! Making snide comments! That Potter boy even tried tripping poor Severus!"

"I'm sure it was just an accident."

"It wasn't."

"Whatever!" Alice interceded. "Come on, let's not fight over boys! That's not supposed to happen until we're older!" Alice teased.

The girls relaxed, and giggled a bit.

"Yeah, come on! We're Gryffindor girls, we're supposed to be best friends! Arguing over boys certainly won't get us there!" Gwenog continued.

"Oh, all right," Marlene said. "What's after Potions?"

Lily fumbled with her schedule. "Charms with Flitwick, and that's the last class of the day."

"Wonderful!" Marlene chortled.

When the girls arrived at the Potions classroom, a large, pot-bellied man was at the front. "Welcome, students! Please, take a seat!"

Awkwardly, the students sat down, and pulled out their copy of "Magical Drafts and Potions," by Arsenius Jigger.

As Lily sat, she kept glancing at the door, hoping to see Severus.

At last, she spotted him coming through the door, and he smiled. "Lily! Here, come sit with me!" He beckoned over to the other side of the classroom.

"I —" Lily looked over at her new friends, but then figured that she would have the chance to sit next to them in all her classes, versus Potions might be the only class she had with Severus.

"All right," she said, jumping down from her seat and collecting her bag.

Severus grinned widely as Lily sat next to him.

When class started, the pot-bellied Professor began wobbling around the classroom. "Welcome, first-years! Welcome! Ah, I remember my first day at Hogwarts. Memorable day it was," he said, staring dreamily across the room.

"Well," he snapped out of his trance. "I'm Professor Slughorn, and as you all know, I teach Potions. Potions is a very complicated type of magic that requires extreme precision and detail. Today, we will start off with a simple potion: Cure for Boils. The recipe is in your copy of 'Magical Drafts and Potions.' You will need to partner up. Happy potion-making!"

The students all flipped through their textbook, searching for the recipe, while the ones who had found it were scrambling for the ingredients.

Slughorn was wandering through the room, observing every pair's station. When he arrived at Lily and Severus', he beamed in extreme satisfaction.

"Well, well, well" he boomed. "I've got two Potion masters in the making right here!"

Lily blushed, but Severus's face remained straight.

"Tell me, what're your names?"

"Lily Evans."

"Er— Severus Snape," Severus' eyes flickered awkwardly around the classroom, unused to attention.

"Well, Miss Evans and Mister Snape, I see much potential here. Keep working! I'm very interested to see how your final potion turns out!"

When Potions class finished with Slughorn praising Lily and Severus' potion, all of the students filed out, eager that there was only one class left in the long day.

"Where're you headed next?" Severus asked Lily hopefully.

"Oh, Charms. You?"

"Herbology," Severus wrinkled his nose. "I'll see you later?"

"Of course!" Lily smiled.

Severus walked off, and turned around to grin at Lily, crashing straight into someone as he did so.

"Hey! Watch where you're going, Snivellus!" James yelled with a teasing laugh.

Students in the hallway all looked at Severus and giggled.

"Oh, man! You've got to wash your robes, James! They're all greasy, now!" Sirius played along.

"Good point, Sirius. Do wash your greasy hair next time you plan on attacking me, Snivelly!" James snickered.

"Stop it! How horrible are you?" Lily yelled incredulously at James.

"Oh, Evans! I forget you're friends with Snivelly!" James teased, running his hand through his hair. "I wonder how Snivelly has a pretty girlfriend. I mean, I'm the one who washes my hair!"

Laughter filled the hallway as Lily's face twisted into an expression of deepest loathing. "You disgust me, Potter. Come on, Severus!"

She grabbed Severus by the arm and dragged him away, ignoring the "OoooOoo, Snivelly's got a girlfriend," that James and Sirius were chanting from behind.

In Charms class, Lily was extremely moody, but still managed to perform a spell that made Professor Flitwick squeak in excitement.

Across the room, she could see James and Sirius grinning at her, and heard multiple mentions of "Snivellus" as they loudly whispered. She gripped her quill tightly, and ignored the boys.

At dinnertime, she was sure to take a seat on the other end of where James and Sirius sat, and she hurried off to her dorm before everyone else finished with dinner.

As she climbed the stairs, she couldn't stop thinking angrily: _How does Marlene think he's funny? It's only the first day and I can already tell that he's just a bully. Poor Severus, he must have been so humiliated!_

When she reached the dorm, she lay on her bed, and fell asleep quickly, tired from the long day.

About two hours later, the rest of the first year Gryffindors entered the dorm. "Shhhh! I think she's sleeping!" Marlene whispered.

"Oh, that's where she went!" Mary exclaimed.

"Poor girl, I suppose she had a long day," Alice muttered sweetly.

And the rest of the girls got ready for bed, tiptoeing around the dorm and slipping under the soft, maroon comforters as they dozed off to sleep in their new home.


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Hey guys! Firstly, my new update schedule for this story will be every/every other week due to a busy schedule. Secondly, I have uploaded a book cover for this story, that I designed myself. I quite like it, so if you want, check it out! Anyways, I'll let you get to the story now. Hope you enjoy it!

 **Chapter 4: Where's Remus?**

 **Late September, 1971**

 **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

It had been two weeks since the first day of school at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and most students were already well-adjusted.

Lily had become close friends with Mary MacDonald, Alice Prewett, Marlene McKinnon, and Gwenog Jones. She was closest to Alice Prewett and Marlene McKinnon, despite the fact that she had gotten into a quarrel with Marlene the first day at school.

Although Lily now had multiple new friends, she was still very close to Severus, and made a point to sit next to him in every Potions class (Slughorn always loved his two new potions stars working together), and would walk with him to whatever classes she could.

On the other hand, James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus had become quite close, especially Sirius and James. The two boys had already landed themselves in a number of detentions, from practicing _Wingardium Leviosa_ on Severus, arriving late to countless classes, and getting caught exploring the Castle at night.

Yet all of these detentions made James and Sirius almost inseparable, and although many of the teachers were fascinated by how two boys could earn themselves the amount of detentions of almost all the seventh years combined, they secretly adored the boys friendship.

It was a Monday morning, and students were groggily filing into the Great Hall after a relaxing, enjoyable, warm and sunny weekend.

It was the last week of September, and students all had a feeling that the beautiful weekend they had just enjoyed would soon turn into chilly, autumn air.

James and Sirius skipped into the Great Hall for breakfast, sitting across from Peter.

"Hey, where's Remus?" James asked, peering down both ends of the Gryffindor table in search of his friend.

"Dunno," Peter said. "Wasn't in his bed when I woke up, I just figured he must've left for breakfast early."

"Well, he's not here," Sirius said.

"We figured as much," James said. "Perhaps he ate breakfast extremely early and went off to the library or something. You know him, much more efficient and studious than the rest of us."

They all agreed with this theory, and continued to eat their breakfast.

However, when they sat down in Transfiguration class, Remus had yet to show up.

"Perhaps he's just late," Sirius said.

"Remus is never late," James persisted.

"He was late on the first day at school," Peter interjected.

"That was only because of us," James argued.

"Boys!" McGonagall snapped shrilly. "What are you discussing that is possibly more important than my lecture?"

"Professor, we believe Remus is missing," James said.

McGonagall's lips thinned. "Yes, Potter, I am aware that Mister Lupin is missing from class."

"Than why aren't you doing anything?" James yelped. "Aren't you going to look for him?"

McGonagall's eyes narrowed. "We know where Mister Lupin is, Potter, and I believe the matter does not concern you. Your friend is safe, and that is all you need to know. Now, Potter, do keep quiet for the rest of my lesson."

James shrunk back. _At least Remus is safe_ , James thought.

The rest of the day was rather blunt, nothing very interesting. The boys kept trying to think of reasons as to where Remus could be, but could not come up with anything logical.

"Is he even going to come back?" The thought had just occurred to James.

The boys looked at each other.

"'Course he will," Sirius said, after a moment's hesitation.

"But, remember on the first day at school, when he said he shouldn't even be at Hogwarts? Perhaps...perhaps they've finally expelled him for whatever reason!" James worried.

"Hogwarts wouldn't expel any student unless they did something extremely horrible," Peter insisted.

"I dunno…" James muttered.

For the next three days, the three boys continued to speculate about where their friend could be. They had even quit teasing people, even though Remus hardly ever participated in their pranks. However, James still could not resist the urge to call out Severus in the halls.

Sirius had noticed, too, that recently, James would ruffle his hair and lopsidedly grin at Lily whenever he passed by her.

Sirius was beginning to reach the conclusion that James had developed some sort of crush, and for whatever reason Sirius could not understand. The girl was uptight, bossy, and absolutely loathed James. She was always yelling at James whenever James teased Severus, always glaring at James when James grinned at her, and always avoided the group whenever she could. If anything, Lily was the last person Sirius expected James to have a crush on.

Yet that night, at dinner, James insisted on sitting next to the Gryffindor girls, taking a seat next to Lily. "Hey, Evans! What's for dinner tonight?"

Lily wrinkled her nose and scooched a little to her left, away from James. "Look for yourself," she responded flatly.

She shoved one last bite of mashed potatoes into her mouth, and then climbed off the bench. "I'll be getting ready for bed," she said promptly, and then scurried out of the Great Hall.

"Getting ready for bed? At 6:00?" James asked incredulously. "What's with that girl?"

"Why do you care?" Sirius asked, then grinned and waggled his eyebrows. "Do you have a crush on her or something?"

James grinned, "Nah. She's just fun to tease. The ones who are most uptight are funnier to loosen up!"

"Doesn't look to me like she's loosening up any," Peter muttered.

"'Course she isn't, hanging around that sour Snivellus," James said.

Sirius grinned, and mimicked Severus' expression: "Hullo, I'm Snivelly. I always look like I sniffed a pile of dragon dung."

The boys howled with laughter.

"I know right? I don't understand why Lily hangs around with him. He's rather creepy, if you ask me," Marlene commented.

The boys immediately turned to the girl in surprise.

"McKinnon, isn't it?" Sirius asked.

"Sure is," Marlene said. "Anyways, I ask Lily all the time why she hangs around that Severus boy. She's much too good for him."

"I think Severus has a crush on her," Mary MacDonald joined in.

"But Lily said they're just friends," Alice insisted.

"Not if you ask Snivelly," Sirius sneered. "The only times he doesn't look sour is when Evans is with him."

"He brightens up every time he sees her," Peter said. "As if he's got a chance."

"How do they even know each other anyways?" Sirius asked. "From what I've seen, when Slytherins and Gryffindor's mix, it's bloody hell."

"They live close to each other back home, I think" Marlene said. "Apparently Severus was the first to discover Lily was a witch."

"Oh, yeah!" Sirius said. "During the sorting Evans said Snivellus told her she was a witch. He must have done some extensive stalking to notice, right James?" Sirius grinned.

James looked up from his dinner, "Huh?"

"'S'the'matter with you?" Sirius asked. "You've suddenly gone all quiet."

"Nothing," James said. He picked up his fork, "just hungry," and he shoved a bite of green beans into his mouth. He immediately gagged a bit, scrunching his face up in disgust.

Sirius narrowed his eyes. "Ah…"

"Well, I'm off to Gryffindor tower. Better start on that Potions homework Slughorn gave us," Marlene said.

"I'll bet Lily is breezing through it," Gwenog complained.

"I'll walk with you girls," Sirius smiled charmingly, his eyes glinting.

The girls blushed.

"Coming, James?" Sirius asked.

"Oh, right," James muttered. He quickly stood up and scampered away without Sirius.

Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"What's gotten into _him_?" Peter asked.

"Dunno," Sirius answered.

* * *

The next morning, James opened his bed hangings to see someone digging through a trunk across the dormitory.

"Remus!" James exclaimed. "Where've you been these last few days? We've been hounding all the professors!"

Remus paled. "Oh...wh-what did they say?"

"Wouldn't tell us anything, except that you're safe," James rolled his eyes.

Remus relaxed.

"Well, it's a good thing you're all right! Now, are _you_ gonna tell us where've you been?"

Remus's face went frosty white again. "Oh, um…"

"Come on! You've got to tell us! We're your best mates!" Sirius climbed out of his bed eagerly.

"I d-don't really want to t-talk about it," Remus stammered.

"Come on!" James whined.

"I was visiting my mum," Remus blurted out.

"What for?"

"Do you get homesick?" Peter asked hopefully. "Because don't worry, I get homesick too."

"No, my mum is sick, I was just visiting her." Remus rambled. "You know, got to make sure she's all right and stuff."

"Oh," Peter said, slouching a bit. "I don't actually get homesick either. I was just er, you know, trying to make you feel better."

"Er...right," Remus said. "Well, I better get to breakfast now. I have a lot to catch up on, haven't I?"

Remus swiftly left the dormitory, his robes billowing behind him.

"Poor bloke," James said. "His mum must really not feel great if they even pulled him out of school."

"Poor bloke" Sirius agreed. "D'you notice all those scratches on his face? Wonder where those are from," Sirius said.

"You're right. They certainly weren't there before he left," James wondered.

"Oh, well, I'm sure he'll tell us soon. Probably some swashbuckling adventure story behind it," Sirius said.

They all nodded in agreement, and following their mysterious friend, left the dormitory and headed down for breakfast.


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Ok, I know this chapter is not my best, it is a bit lousy. However, I promise, promise that the next chapter is so much better! Quick facts: I know that Alice Longbottom's maiden name was thought to be Prewitt in J.K Rowling's notebooks. However, I personally believe that is much too similar to Prewett, another pureblood Wizarding family name, so I figure it'd flow with the story much better and make more sense if Alice's last name is Prewett. Also, I just want to say that all of these characters are canon, and I went to some pretty lengthy research to make sure of it. The only name made up so far is Mulciber's first name, because I couldn't find a first name for him. Anyways, disclaimer, J.K Rowling owns all of these characters. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

 **Chapter 5: The Hufflepuff and Gryffindor Girls**

 **Mid-October, 1971**

 **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

The Herbology Greenhouse was quaint and misty, the air sticky with moisture as pots of little green plants sat serenely along the tables. There was a bustling as class ended, and the first-year Gryffindor and Hufflepuff students all packed and collected their bags, darting out of the greenhouse into the weekend.

Outside, the October air sent a chill through the robes of Hogwarts students as they walked towards the Great Hall for dinner, chatting animatedly as they went.

One rather large cluster of students included a group of bright girls, maroon and canary yellow robes swishing as they walked down the corridors. The Hufflepuff and Gryffindor first-year girls were eagerly making plans for the weekend. The two houses had found out that they were quite compatible during Herbology classes, and Alice Prewett had come up with the exciting idea of a gathering between the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor first-year girls that weekend.

"What activities were you thinking of doing, Alice?" Lily asked interestingly when they reached the Great Hall and sat down at the Gryffindor table.

"Oh, I dunno, really. Perhaps a few get to know each other games, or just gossip!"

"OooOoo, maybe they could tell me about any cute Hufflepuff gentlemen," Marlene giggled.

"What? Gryffindor boys not cute enough for you?" Sirius asked, sitting down at the table. He winked at the girls, and they all laughed. Even Lily was in such a good mood that she giggled.

"Whoa! James! You won't believe what just happened!" Sirius grinned. "Evans laughed at my joke!"

Lily's smile immediately slackened. "I'm just trying to enter this weekend with positivity," Lily said promptly.

"Oh, come on, Evans! It's all right to admit to having fun!" James teased.

"I certainly don't have fun whenever _you're_ around, Potter."

"Attacking me, again, Evans?"

"Attacking? Attacking? _Me_ , attacking? Who's the one always humiliating Sev in the halls for no absolute reason? It certainly isn't me! The only one attacking people here is you, Potter! You and Black!" Lily cried in an outburst.

"I don't humiliate Snivellus, he asks for it!"

"Are you kidding me? He does not ask for it! He's never done anything to you that makes him deserve the way you torture him!"

"I do _not_ torture him."

"You do, you do and you either completely know it or you have no idea! Either way, it makes you the world's biggest prat!"

"I am _not_ a prat!"

" _Oh. My. God_. Shut up! Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!" Marlene screamed.

Heads from the other tables turned around and stared at the Gryffindors, and the Professors looked up at the silence.

It was quiet for a second, and then everybody turned around and resumed talking.

Marlene glared at Lily and James. "What _is it_ with you two? Why do you two _always_ act like this?"

"It's not my fault. If Potter would just act mature for a second, I would give him all the respect he deserves."

"Oh, please, Evans! If you would just stop being so stuck-up about everything –"

"Do _not_ turn this around on me!"

"OH, my god!" Marlene shrieked. " _Just_ get along! Please! I don't want to deal with _this_ " she waved her finger in a circle at the two, "for another six years. We're Gryffindors, and we're stuck with each other whether you like it or not."

"I agree with Marlene," Sirius grinned cheekily.

"Shut up, Black!"

"Of course. Will do," Sirius immediately responded.

The rest of dinner was awkward, and silent. As soon as they finished, the girls rushed up to Gryffindor Tower, where they chose to finish their homework in their dormitory rather than in the common room in order to avoid an awkward encounter with the boys

When they finished with their homework, the girls all changed out of their robes, showered, and got ready to sleep.

Lily climbed onto her bed, shut the bed hangings, and then lay down, staring up at the ceiling of her bed. She could hear the other girls shuffling around the room, but as of now, she just wanted to feel closed off to have some room to think.

 _Six years. I'm stuck with Potter for another six years, and I didn't even realise it until Marlene lost it at dinner,_ Lily thought.

 _Perhaps I should just go home and attend muggle school again. No, no, that's silly. Potter doesn't have that much control over me. Am I over exaggerating this all? No, no. Of course not, Potter is a stupid, annoying, horrible, bullying toerag and none of that is over exaggerated_ , Lily thought firmly.

With that, she rolled onto her side, heaved a deep sigh, and drifted off to sleep. At that point, Lily would never know that she was going to be around Potter for more than another six years.

* * *

"Gooooooood MORNING!" Marlene shouted.

 _Whoosh._ She pulled open Gwenog's bed hangings eagerly, a wide grin on her face. Gwenog lifted her head off her pillow, grunted, and collapsed back on the bed, muttering "leave me alone."

"Morning, morning, morning, good, good, morning!" Marlene chanted, running around the dormitory and pushing open the bed hangings of all her friends.

"What's wrong with you?" Gwenog groaned.

"What time is it?" Mary asked groggily.

"IT...IS…"

The girls covered their ears from Marlene's shouting as Marlene did a drumroll on her desk.

"SEVEN O'CLOCK SHARP!"

"Ughhh," the girls all groaned.

"Are you kidding me?" Gwenog asked. "I could've slept for _at least_ another two hours!"

"Whatever, lazy-brain," Marlene grinned. "Today is going to be a wonderful day." She twirled around the room, leaping like a ballerina.

The other girls were all propped up on their elbows in their beds, staring in utter confusion as Marlene whirled around the dormitory.

"Are you okay, Marly?" Alice asked sweetly.

"Oh, I am more than okay, Alice!"

"Isn't it rather funny how she was yelling at you and James just last night?" Mary whispered to Lily.

Lily groaned. "Don't remind me about that."

"All right, Gryffindor girls! Up! Up!" Marlene yelled.

"Sounds as if she's trying to summon a broom," Gwenog murmured.

"Time to get ready girls!" Marlene continued to usher.

Begrudgingly, the girls scooted out of bed, dressing into crisp, white blouses with gray sweaters that had hems lined in maroon and gold stripes, complete with a maroon and gold tie tucked underneath their sweaters. Lily, Alice, and Mary were wearing black skirts that went slightly above their knees, while Marlene and Gwenog wore the same skirt, but in a gray and maroon plaid pattern. All girls finished their weekend outfit with a pair of tall, gray socks, and a maroon and gold striped headband.

When they all finished dressing, they headed down to breakfast.

The first thing Lily searched for in the Great Hall was a group of four, gangly boys. _Much too early for those prats_ , Lily smirked as she settled into a seat at the Gryffindor table and helped herself to breakfast.

"Where did Emmeline say we should meet them?" Mary asked.

"Clocktower Courtyard," Alice responded cheerily as she spread some jam over her toast. "It feels so nice to be making friends with other Houses."

"Yeah, great for inter-house unity" Marlene agreed. "Although, I am certainly not making friends with anybody in Slytherin."

Marlene's eyes popped as she suddenly realised what she just said in front of Lily and the other girls also suddenly took an interest to the gold lining of their plates.

"Whatever you think," Lily said calmly, although there was a certain edge to her voice. "Sev is a good person, so I'm sure the other Slytherins are as well. If you want to stick with stereotypes, however, feel free to."

"Well, of course, not _all_ Slytherins are bad…" Alice started, but Marlene gagged loudly on her eggs.

Lily shot a look at Marlene.

"Whatever," Mary said. "It doesn't matter. Nothing worth fighting about."

Marlene looked like she wanted to argue, but she dropped the subject.

After breakfast, the girls headed to the Clocktower Courtyard for their day with the Hufflepuffs.

"Well, it appears we are a bit early," Marlene said promptly.

"A bit? We're one _hour_ early, if I remember correctly," Gwenog said.

"Exactly! So...a bit!" Marlene chirped.

The girls all gave her a questioning look, but didn't say anything under her firm stare.

"I'm chilly, let's wait inside," Lily suggested.

The other girls except Marlene all nodded in agreement: "Oh, come on, girls! Let's enjoy this beautiful, lovely weather!" Marlene said in a singsong voice.

The girls all looked up at the murky, gray sky, where the sun was struggling to break through the clouds.

"Yeah...I'm going in," Gwenog said matter-of-factly, and the rest of the girls followed her.

"Okay, well, you do that! I'm staying here!" Marlene shouted as they left the courtyard.

The girls sat down in a corridor, and Gwenog watched out the window at Marlene, who was standing grumpily under a tree, clearly not enjoying the "beautiful" weather. Her hands were wrapped close around her, and her jaw was braced with a slight chatter of the teeth as her blonde hair flew crazily around her face.

Gwenog turned back around and giggled. "Looks like Marly is regretting her decision."

Lily, Mary, and Alice all peered out the window after Gwenog and laughed.

"Oh, Marly...so stubborn…" Alice chuckled fondly.

When it was time to actually meet the Hufflepuffs, Lily, Gwenog, Mary, and Alice went back outside to the Clocktower Courtyard.

"Where's Marly?" Lily asked.

Gwenog smirked, "Looks like she's not too in love with the weather after all."

"Oh! There they are!"

The girls turned around to see five girls dressed in the same outfits as them except with gold and black highlights instead of maroon and gold.

Lily had only really talked to three of them: Emmeline Vance and Dorcas Meadowes, whom she had met on the Hogwarts Express, and Doris Purkiss, whom she had partnered up with in Herbology once.

"Hello!" Dorcas smiled brightly as she reached them. "It's more chilly outside than I imagined it would be."

"Oh, yes. In fact, Marlene's run off because of it," Gwenog teased.

Dorcas raised her eyebrow.

"It's a bit of a story," Alice quickly finished. "Anyways, would you rather we go inside then?"

"Oh, yes," said a girl in the back. She was rather square-jawed, and serious looking, but at the same time had a kindhearted look to her face. "I'm Amelia Bones," she shook hands with Lily and Gwenog. "I don't believe I've really talked to you two, have I?"

Lily smiled warmly. "No, I'm Lily Evans, pleasure to meet you!"

"Gwenog Jones, nice to meet you as well!"

"Well, let's head on inside, shall we?" Emmeline Vance said, shivering.

The girls settled in the corridor once again, and began gossiping, to Lily's dismay, about James and Sirius.

"Sirius Black is very handsome," Doris Purkiss said dreamily, as she gripped a copy of the Quibbler.

Gwenog leaned over and whispered in Lily's ear: "I hear Purkiss is a bit loopy in the head."

Lily smiled, not wanting to make any judgements too soon.

"That Potter boy is rather handsome too," Greta Catchlove, a honey-blonde girl said.

"More like scrawny, if you ask me," Lily muttered.

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing," Lily said quickly.

"Lily holds a bit of a grudge against Potter and Black," Mary explained.

"Oh, right, I knew that," Greta said cheerily.

Lily raised any eyebrow.

"Every first-year in the school knows you have a problem with Potter," Dorcas explained.

Lily's face went blank. "What?" She asked in a sweetly venomous tone.

Dorcas cowered back a bit.

"Well, er...you see, Lils...you put on a bit of a show when you yell at Potter...it attracts quite a bit of attention…" Alice stammered.

Lily's eyes bulged. "I do not ask for attention. If I ever did, I might as well get married to Potter." She mouthed "blah" as soon as she said this.

"I didn't say you ask for attention...it just comes...to you," Alice awkwardly tried to word it.

"Are there any handsome boys in Hufflepuff?" Gwenog quickly asked, knowing that anytime Potter came into a conversation with Lily, Lily was bound to start yelling at some point.

"Oh, yes!" Purkiss giggled. "There are lots of cute boys in Hufflepuff. The cutest in our year are Amos Diggory, Davey Gudgeon, and Caradoc Dearborn!"

"Oh, Diggory is very blessed!" Emmeline laughed. "I'll bet you once people start dating, girls are going to be swarming around him!"

"Tsk tsk...Potter's got competition," Lily muttered.

Gwenog gave her a look.

"I wonder if Marlene's ever gonna show," Mary wondered aloud. "You don't think she went back outside to the courtyard and is waiting for us, do you?"

"Nah, she was bound to pass by us if she went back out to the courtyard."

"Where _is_ she?"

"Dunno, should we go look for her?"

"It's been a while, I saw we should," Lily said. "Sorry, perhaps we can meet up again sometime later? Next time we'll make sure Marlene doesn't dissappear."

The Hufflepuffs laughed. "Sure, and don't worry about it!"

"Shall we stop by the Great Hall first?"

The girls checked the Great Hall, but couldn't find Marlene. They searched classrooms and asked nearby students.

"Oh, I think I saw her with Potter, Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew a while ago," one student said.

"Impossible," Lily said.

But sure enough, when they checked the Gryffindor Common Room, Marlene was sitting with James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter on the couch, playing wizards chess with Sirius.

"Marlene?" Lily asked incredulously as she tapped her on the shoulder.

"Oh, hey Lils!" Marlene said dismissively as she turned back to her game of wizards chess.

"Uh..Marly..what are you doing?"

"Wizard's chess!"

"Er...right. I mean, what are you doing with uh...ahem, you know?"

"Sorry?"

"Ah...well, uh, nevermind."

"What're you talking about, Evans?" Black said.

Lily threw him a glare. "Nothing that concerns you, Black."

"Actually, I think it does concern Black," Marlene sighed.

Lily stared at her. "Wanna tell me something, Marly?"

"Sure…" Marlene stood up off the couch. "Your move, Black, I'll be right back."

Lily pulled her into a corner of the common room. "Where've you been all this time? In case you weren't aware, you missed our gathering with the Hufflepuffs!"

"Right, I was with the boys."

Lily inched her head forward a bit, still waiting for an explanation.

"Look, Lils, I know you think they're horrible, but they're actually a really good group of boys. James is actually really sincere, Sirius is still annoying, Remus is just like you as a boy, and Peter is really, very sweet."

Lily stared at her. "Are you serious?"

"No reason not to be."

Lily gaped. "Right, well, if you think you like them…"

"I do, I think they make very good friends!" Marlene smiled. "You should try making friends with them, too! They're much better than that Severus boy...and if you ask me, it seems Potter has a bit of a crush on you."

Lily looked appalled. "Absolutely not! And stop badgering me about Sev, if you tried to just talk to Sev you would see how kind he really is."

Marlene bit her lip. "Right, yeah...there's just a small problem with that... _he_ doesn't want to talk to _me_."

Lily sighed. "You know what, forget it."

"Yeah, it's okay, I'll still be friends with you Lils! You're like, my best friend at Hogwarts, and nothing will change that!"

"Aw, Marly…"

Lily hugged Marlene, and then left Marlene to finish her game of wizard's chess with Sirius.

As she climbed up the stairs, she saw Marlene laughing with the boys. Lily smiled gently, and sighed. Well, if Marlene really liked them, so be it. _Maybe someday, I could learn to tolerate them as well_ , Lily thought.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Happy Halloweeners**

 **October 31, 1971**

 **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

"Happy, happy, happy Halloween!" Sirius chortled as he tore Peters' bed hangings open and began jumping on the bed.

"Youch!" Peter yelped. "You got my leg there!"

"Sorry, mate!" Sirius called as he flew off the bed and clambered onto James'.

"Eurgh...get off!" James grumbled, swiping at his comforter with his arm to try and knock Sirius off.

"Oi, mate! You almost got me there!" Sirius hollered as he hopped an extra time to avoid James' swinging arm.

"Good," James grumbled.

"Remus gone again?" Peter asked, looking across the room at Remus' open bed hangings and empty, neat bed.

"S'pose so," James answered. "Poor bloke, you'd think his mum had gotten better by now."

"Well, it's time to go get breakfast," Sirius ushered. "Some fifth year told me that on Halloween, there's a nice feast for dinner!"

"Then I'll sleep until dinner," James decided, rolling over on his side and snuggling his head in his pillow, until he felt something jerk his pillow from under his head and smack him on the head with it. _Thwack!_

"OI!" James yelled, sitting up immediately.

Sirius grinned mischievously from next to James' bed, pillow raised above his shoulder. "Are you awake now?"

James narrowed his eyes. "Watch your back from now on, mate."

Sirius laughed, and tossed the pillow back at James. "OooOoo, I'm so scared..." _Thunk!  
_  
Sirius collapsed onto the floor as James tossed all of his pillows at Sirius.

"Oi! Now _you_ watch your back!"

" _OooOoo, I'm so scared…_ " James mocked Sirius.

Thunk! Sirius threw the pillows back at James.

Thunk! James threw them back at Sirius.

Thunk!

Thunk!

Thunk!

Thunk!

"ALL RIGHT!" Peter screamed finally as one of the pillows missed Sirius and hit Peter instead. "It's time for breakfast."

"Yeah, yeah…" James and Sirius whined as they finished getting ready and left the dormitory with Peter for the Great Hall.

As they walked downstairs into the common room, they saw the Gryffindor first year girls gathered on the couches, doing each others hair.

"Hey, boys!" Marlene called friendly, raising a hand to wave at the boys and dropping half of Mary MacDonald's hair from its braid.

"Marlene!" Mary grunted as James, Sirius, and Peter waved back at Marlene and climbed out of the portrait hole.

"Sorry!" Marlene yelped, picking up Mary's hair.

"Now you have to start all over," Mary whined.

"Oh, it's fine, Mary. It's a Sunday, there's no rush," Lily said comfortingly.

The girls continued to chatter animatedly as they braided each other's hair. When they were finished, they all got up and one by one, clambered through the portrait hole.

"I hope we're not too late for breakfast!" Alice said worriedly.

"Don't worry, they can't let us starve!" Lily laughed.

Sure enough, when they reached the Great Hall, the girls were still able to help themselves to a nice, filling breakfast.

The rest of the day was quite amusing for the first years. In the clocktower courtyard, some Gryffindor fifth-year boys were transfiguring stones into pumpkins (James and Sirius loved this demonstration), and at the Great Hall some Hufflepuff sixth-year girls had brought fresh, pumpkin pie from the kitchens (they refused to slip out the location of the kitchens, however) and shared it with any other students who had lingered in the Great Hall after lunch.

Come suppertime, the students were all excited for the Halloween feast, but also disappointed that the weekend was coming to a close.

"This has really been a lovely weekend," Alice said dreamily as the girls walked through the corridors. "The weather is getting quite chilly though. Soon enough, we'll be leaving Hogwarts for Christmas break."

"Oh, Christmas! It's my favorite holiday!" Lily said excitedly.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves...Halloween is only today," Gwenog chuckled.

"Lily!" A small voice said as the girls passed through the corridor. Lily did not hear however, and continued walking with her fellow Gryffindors.

Severus finally pushed off the wall and briskly followed the swishing, auburn braid. "Lily!" he said in a louder voice.

Lily turned, followed by the heads of her friends. Lily smiled warmly, unlike her friends, whose smile vanished and instead was replaced with judgemental glares. "Hey, Sev! Where're you going?"

"Oh, er...nowhere, really."

"Oh, we were just heading to the Great Hall early for dinner. Wanna join?"

Severus glanced nervously at the squinting girls. "Er...do you actually wanna go to the dungeons with me real quick...alone?" Severus asked tentatively.

"Oh, sure!" Lily exclaimed. "See ya later!" she called, waving at her friends as they hesitantly walked off.

"Where to in the dungeons?" Lily asked cheerily. "Potions class?"

"Oh, I'm sure Slughorn would love that," Snape said dryly.

"He really would," Lily laughed. "He does make it rather obvious about who are his favorites."

"Yeah, no kidding," Snape said as they climbed the stairs down to the dungeons.

"Who else d'you think are his favorites in our year?" Lily asked.

"He quite likes you and me. Likes you a little more, I think. Actually, he's more obsessed with you, really."

"Nah...I think he's just like that. He really adores you as well, you probably just haven't noticed."

"Yeah, well, I don't usually get much attention," Snape said sourly.

They were silent for a second. Lily bit her lip unsurely.

"Sorry, that was awkward. I shouldn't have said that."

"Oh, Sev...it's perfectly fine. I really do hope things are getting better at home for you."

Snape felt his heart soar. "Thanks, Lily."

"Of course, Sev...anyways, on a brighter note, I think Slughorn quite likes that Dirk Cresswell from Ravenclaw.

"Oh, that bloke...yeah, I suppose."

"He also seems to think Barnabus Cuffe is quite talented."

"And Potter, "Severus said suddenly, a definite spite in his tone.

"What?" Lily asked.

"Potter. Slughorn's obsessed with that idiot boy. If he ever sees him doing spells in the hallway, instead of taking away his wand, he praises him," Snape snorted. "Seems to think Potter is gifted in some sort of way. Not sure how, seeing as Potter's dreadful at potions."

"I suppose Potter is actually quite brilliant though," Lily contradicted. "Always hear McGonagall praising him about good scores on his exams and essays. Not willingly though, I believe she wants to dislike him, with all the trouble he causes. He's also quite good at defense against the dark arts…"

"What now? Do you like him?" Snape said angrily. "How come you like that idiot boy?"

"Of course I don't like him!" Lily cried defensively, and Snape immediately stopped fuming. Lily ignored this, although she did raise her eyebrow a bit. "I'm just saying that the professors like him...he's not all that stupid, you know."

"Of course the professors like him, everybody likes him for some reason that's beyond me. And he might not be stupid on his exams, but he certainly has an air of idiocy around him everywhere he goes…"

"Sev, that was a bit mean."

"Why do you keep defending him? What's gotten into you?"

"What's gotten into _you_? I know Potter's an annoying bully, but you're being extra, extra mean about him. Why do you care so much about him, anyways?"

"I do not care about him. I couldn't care less for him, in all honesty."

Lily narrowed her eyes. "I suppose that's why you're always gushing over him."

Severus' eyes turned dangerously stony. "Gushing? _Gushing_? I absolutely do not _gush_ over that idiot boy! Don't ever say that again!"

"Fine, just please stop talking about him all the time. For somebody who hates Potter so much, you do talk a lot about him."

"Yeah, but it's not good things."

"You still complain about him, and it really gets annoying. Trust me, Sev, I think he's annoying too, which is why we just have to forget about him, all right?"

"Yeah...right," Severus sighed reluctantly.

"All right, well, I think I should head back up to the Great Hall and meet Marlene and them. Dinner should be starting soon. I'll talk to you later, Sev."

Severus watched as Lily scurried down the corridor, up the stairs, and disappeared out of sight. He suddenly felt a wave of regret wash over him. Why did he have to bring up Potter and make Lily upset? Why did he have to act this way around Lily? He didn't want Lily to think he was a jerk like Potter.

Sighing, he hunched his shoulders and followed the path Lily had taken up to the Great Hall.

The Great Hall was crowded, per usual, but tonight, the air was more stuffy with excitement.

Lily slipped quietly into a seat next to Alice, and looked down at her lap, fidgeting with her fingernails. It wasn't until five minutes later that Alice had actually noticed her.

"Lily! I didn't see you there! How come you're so quiet?"

Lily shrugged, not taking her eyes away from her clean, neat nails.

"Are you all right, Lily?"

Lily shrugged again.

"Lils…what happened? You're not allright."

"I'm fine," Lily finally spoke in a flat tone.

"Are you sure?"

Lily shrugged.

Alice sighed, and just as she was about to turn around, Lily blurted "I got in a fight with Sev."

"Oh, Lily, what happened?"

"He just...I dunno...we were talking about Slughorn's favorites, and then he just started ranting about Potter...again."

"Is that it?"

"No..I, er...well, er...I kinda...I'm not sure how to put it, but I just kinda told him Potter's well like about the professors…"

"You _defended_ Potter?" Alice asked disbelievingly.

"I did _not_ ," Lily snapped fiercely. "I simply just told him to lay off Potter and to stop obsessing over the boy."

"Oh, all right," Alice said, pressing her lips together to prevent from laughing.

"And then he got really angry with me, and he said quite a few horrible things about Potter, so I told him to stop being mean," Lily sighed. "I don't know what it is, but he's just so spiteful these days. It kinda scares me. You'd think that since he's away from home, he'd be feeling much better…"

"What's wrong at his home?" Alice asked curiously.

"Nothing," Lily answered a bit too quickly. Alice raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, well, I suppose it's not my business," Alice said sweetly.

Lily smiled gratefully. She was glad Alice wasn't so prying, unlike Marlene.

Once dinner appeared on the table, the students all dived in eagerly into the meal. For desert, there was an assortment of pumpkin treats.

"I think I've had enough pumpkin pie today for a lifetime," Marlene groaned as she sat back after finishing the last bit of her sixth slice of pumpkin pie that day.

"Marly, I really think you've eaten too much," Lily sighed in concern.

"Of course not, no such thing as eating too much. In fact, I want to try some of that pumpkin cheesecake," Marlene said, sitting back up and reaching across the table for the pumpkin spiced cheesecake.

The girls all watched with a look of disturbance as Marlene stuffed a slice of the cake in her mouth. "Mmm…"

"Ehh…" Gwenog said, wrinkling her nose. "If you throw up, do turn the _other_ direction, away from _me_."

"I woll make shore to thwow wup wight on yoo," Marlene glowered at Gwenog through a full mouth.

"Ew, just ew, Marlene. Do shut your mouth whilst chewing."

"Shore thwing!"

"Eurghhh!" Gwenog shrieked.

Marlene tossed her a brilliant chubby bunny smile, and then continued to dig in at her cheesecake.

When they finished with dinner, they headed up to the Gryffindor common room. Marlene and Gwenog finished their homework that they had procrastinated for the entire weekend, and Lily, Alice, and Mary were all writing letters to their parents.  
 _  
Dear mum and dad,_

 _How are you two? I hope you are doing very well. I miss you oh, so much. I am sorry for just now writing to you. I have been trying to adjust first, and there hasn't been too much to write about here. How is Tuney? I am enclosing a separate letter for Tuney, in case she wants to read it. I do hope she's not still angry with me. I really do miss her. Please give her my best._

 _As for Hogwarts, it continues to be as amazing as it sounds. Tonight we had a Halloween feast, and it was absolutely delicious! Firstly, I must tell you that we have been sorted into Houses. They are where our dormitories are, and they are like my school family. I was sorted into Gryffindor! Gryffindor values chivalry—I'm not sure if I quite have that quality. There are three other houses: Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. I have constantly heard that Slytherins are all bad, but Severus (my friend from Spinner's end) was sorted into that house. I think Severus is very nice, apart from a little fight we got into today, but I think that's just normal._

 _I have made quite a few new friends here. My friends in Gryffindor are Marlene McKinnon, Alice Prewett, Gwenog Jones, and Mary MacDonald. Mary is also new to the world of magic, just like me! I have a feeling these girls will all be my very closest friends in the years to come. I also have some friends outside of my House. Dorcas Meadowes and Emmeline Vance are both very kind to me, and they are in Hufflepuff house, which values loyalty, kindness, and acceptance of everybody._

 _Anyways, how are things at home? I can't wait to visit you guys at Christmas and tell you all about Hogwarts. Please respond as quickly as you can!_

 _Lots of Love,  
Lily_

Lily stared at the letter with satisfaction, folded it up, and stuck it in an envelope. Then she leaned her head on her hand, propping her elbow up on the table and staring out the window down at the quidditch pitch. That struck some excitement from Lily. The first quidditch match was coming up, Gryffindor versus Slytherin, and Lily was very excited to watch her first quidditch match, even though she was quite lousy at flying (which she had discovered during flying lessons down at the training grounds).

As she looked out, Lily fumbled with her quill, and began tapping the point of it against the desk unawarely. Should she write to Tuney?

"Lily, please stop," Mary said.

"Huh? Oh…" Lily dropped the quill, and the tapping noise vanished. .

"Thanks," Mary smiled. "Are you all right?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm just wondering if I should write to my sister."

"Of course you should! Why wouldn't you?"

Lily hesitated. She had not told any of her new friends about what happened with Petunia. "Er, no reason."

Lily took her quill and with a deep breath, began writing.  
 _  
Dear Tuney,_

 _How are you? I hope you are doing so, so well. Are you still mad at me? I'm so sorry Tuney for doing anything wrong, and I'm sorry that it upsets you that I go to Hogwarts. I miss you so much Tuney, please forgive me. You're my sister, and you are my best friend. I really want things to be okay between us again. I don't have much more to say, I guess. Please, please write back to me! You have no idea how much I miss you!_

 _Lots of love,  
Lily_

Lily looked at the letter, and figured it would have to do. She tucked it into the envelope along with her parents letter, and went up to her dormitory, laying it on the nightstand so that she could take it to the owlery the next day and deliver it.

She took a look out the window of her dormitory. Halloween day. An empty pit carved into her stomach. As fun as the day had been, Lily just had a bad feeling about Halloween day, and she wasn't sure why. She sighed, shut the curtains, and got ready for bed.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: The First Quidditch Match**

 **First Weekend of November, 1971**

 **The Quidditch Pitch**

 _Foomp!_

Lily gawked and woke up, feeling something wooly get tossed on her face. She picked it off, pulling away some of her dark red hair that had tried to stick to the object with static. In her hands, she held a rather thick maroon scarf, patterned with thin gold stripes.

She looked up and saw Gwenog walking in a circle around the dormitory, tossing the scarfs at her sleeping roommates.

"This is it, guys! The first quidditch match of the season! Get up, get up! We must get to the pitch early and get good get seats!" Gwenog ushered eagerly, every inch of her body lighting up with excitement.

"Ugh!" Marlene grunted through her pillow. "You sound just like Potter. Quidditch fanatic, that boy."

"Come on, come on!" Gwenog ignored Marlene. "Put on your scarfs everybody, show some Gryffindor pride!"

"Where did you even get these?" Alice asked, lifting up one end of the scarf to examine it.

"Gryffindor prefects," Gwenog said cheerily. "This game is very important, you see. The match against Slytherin is always the most important to Gryffindors and Slytherins."

"Why?" Mary asked incredulously.

" _Because,_ " Marlene said accusingly. "Gryffindors and Slytherins have the largest rivalry out of all the houses at Hogwarts."

"Why?" Mary asked again.

This time, Marlene didn't have an answer, but Lily did: "Well, Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin, the founders of the houses, actually had a bit of a feud between themselves, so I suppose that's where it could've started."

"Really?"

"How'd you know that?"

"Hogwarts: A History," Lily quipped. "You guys should really try reading sometime."

"No need to read when you can tell us all the information," Marlene chortled.

Lily laughed as she pulled a grey Gryffindor sweater over her head and wrapped Gwenog's scarf around her neck. "It looks quite chilly outside today."

"Oh, yes," Gwenog said. "But don't worry, the game will be worth it! Just you wait, Lily, you'll love it!"

"All right, Gwenog," Lily laughed lightheartedly.

The second they stepped outside of the dormitory, they could hear commotion from the common room. The girls had never seen the common room so crowded before, as students buzzed around in a sea of maroon and gold. Older students were handing out Gryffindor flags, scarfs, and necklaces, as younger students gathered in groups and decorated their outfits.

James eagerly grabbed a scarf, two flags, and four necklaces from a seventh-year, and tossed all of the accessories onto himself. He grinned excitedly at Sirius, Remus, and Peter.

"This is great! This is going to be so great!" James said excitedly. "Wait 'till I'm on the team, and it'll be even better!"

Sirius was also grinning as they competed to see who could adorn themselves with as many Gryffindor accessories as possible.

Peter was watching the two boys in awe and simple happiness, while Remus stood next to him, noticeably much more sulky than the other boys.

"Remus, you came back just in time from your mum's for the game! Aren't you so excited?" James asked happily.

"Er, yes," Remus said simply, keeping his hands behind his back as he glanced around the busy common room.

"How come you don't look so cheery?" Sirius asked. "Oh, you have a few more scratches on your face, by the way. How do you keep getting those?"

Remus flinched and reached up to touch his face. "Er...my cat at home isn't very friendly."

"Ah…" Sirius said, wrapping a necklace around his wrist so to make a bracelet.

"All right, let's get going, guys," James said, heading towards the portrait hole. "We've got to eat breakfast quickly so we can get good seats at the pitch."

The boys followed James out, and they hurried along towards the Great Hall, stuffing breakfast in their mouths when they got there. When they finished with breakfast, they walked down to the Quidditch Pitch, James chattering excitedly. "I'm definitely going to try out for the quidditch team next year. It's too bad they don't let first years on the team. Otherwise, I'd be getting ready for the game with the team right now. D'you reckon you'll try out next year, Sirius?"

"Perhaps. I think it's more interesting to watch quidditch rather than play it, though. What position d'you wanna try out for?"

"Seeker. But if I can't make seeker, I'll definitely try for chaser."

"My little brother, Regulus wants to play seeker too when he gets to Hogwarts," Sirius said. "He'll probably end up in Slytherin, though."

"Does he have a broom?"

"Yeah. Nice one he's got too. Nimbus Five. The Nimbus is a whole new generation of brooms, they say."

"I want one! All I've got right now is a Cleansweep two. All right, I suppose, but nothing compared to a Nimbus. My dad says that if I make the team next year, though, he'll buy me a Nimbus. Just another reason why I want to play quidditch."

"Is quidditch big in your family, then?"

"Yes! My dad loved quidditch when he was younger. Took us on a family trip to the Quidditch world cup in 1966 when Australia won. Best time of my life. Yours?"

"I suppose. My brother is quite interested in it, but the rest of my family isn't as fanatical about it."

James and Sirius continued to chat about quidditch until they reached the quidditch pitch, and managed to get third-to-front row seats.

Four rows back, Gwenog was beating herself up to the other girls. "If only we'd come five minutes earlier, we could've gotten better seats!"

"It's fine, Gwenog. We can see perfectly fine from here," Lily said, even though it was a lie, because all she could see was a light layer of fog in the sky. "Are quidditch seats normally this high?"

"Of course," Gwenog said. "How else can you watch flying players?"

"Oh, right…"

The stands began to fill up very quickly, and the spirit of the first match of the season was very high.

"Aaaand here we are!" The commentator yelled. "First quidditch match of the season, 1971, Gryffindor House vs. Slytherin House. And here our players. First, of Gryffindor House, we have…"

And the commentator listed off the names of the Gryffindor players as they sped past, one by one, on their broomsticks.

Lily tried her best not to cover her ears, as the sound coming from their Gryffindor box was deafening with cheers, screams, and whoops of excitement. She watched in awe as the players flew, for the first time witnessing true flying.

"Aaand that is our Gryffindor team! Everybody give them a round of applause!"

Their was cheering from the Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and of course, Gryffindors. Their cheering was so loud that it almost drowned out the several boos coming from the Slytherins.

"And for Slytherin House, we have…"

The Slytherin players zoomed by on their brooms, green quidditch robes sweeping by in a blur as they circled around the pitch.

A huge roar came from the opposite side of the pitch, where the sea of green and silver was bobbing up and down excitedly.

Lily narrowed her eyes, looking for Severus, but was too far away to be able to find the greasy, black, moppy hair.

The cheers settled down finally, and the players were hovered in the air, with Madam Hooch holding her whistle.

It was quiet, very quiet, as everybody waited anxiously for Hooch to blow the whistle. And then she did it, and the players took off.

Lily was unsure how to follow the game, there was too much going on. "Who should I be looking at?" Lily asked Gwenog frantically.

Gwenog began pointing at the field. "For now, just watch the chasers and keepers, and you can see how many points they score. You shouldn't have to watch the beaters much, and you don't need to watch the seeker until they make a sudden movement—that's when you know that they should've seen the Snitch, and that's when you want to watch them."

Gwenog continued to explain to Lily the rules of quidditch, what each quidditch ball's role was, how many points each was worth, and what each player's job was.

Lily found that she really enjoyed watching quidditch. She found that it gave rise to much Gryffindor pride, and soon enough, she was cheering just as hard as the messy haired boy four rows down from her.

"CATCH IT! CATCH IT!" James hollered at a Gryffindor chaser. He seemed more absorbed in the game than the players themselves.

"And Slytherin scores! Gryffindor 40, Slytherin 70."

"NOOOO!" James yelled in agony, as if he were being tortured.

Lily watched him comically from above. "Potter's really into this, isn't he?"

"Oh, yeah, Potter's a quidditch nerd. Just as eager as I am about making the quidditch team next year," Gwenog said.

"You talk to him?" Lily asked in surprise.

"Yeah," Gwenog said, not taking her eyes off the quidditch pitch. "Only about quidditch though, that's really our only common interest."

"And it seems that the Golden Snitch has been spotted!" The commentator yelled.

Immediately, all heads whipped around, focusing on the seekers.

Lily watched in complete amazement at their speed, how they were basically neck to neck, leaning close to their brooms, faces twisted into concentration.

They sped around the pitch, and the crowd was screaming like crazy. "GET IT! GET IT! GRAB IT BEFORE HE DOES," both sides were screaming.

Lily figured they must be close to catching it, as both of them now had one of their arms outstretched, clinging onto their brooms with only one hand and their legs.

"GET IT!" The crowd was going absolutely berserk now.

And then the player in maroon and gold gave a lurch and tumbled to the ground, and the Slytherin player stopped on his broom. The crowd was silenced for a moment in anticipation, until the Gryffindor player scrambled up and raised his right arm, and Lily could just barely make out something gold twitching in his fingers.

"AND HE'S CAUGHT IT! Gryffindor's won 190-70!"

The uproar came back once again, just as quickly as it had gone, except this time the sound only came from the Gryffindor side.

Lily smiled widely, and Gwenog was doing a half-fist pump half-jumping wildly into the air dance.

The Gryffindors were all cheering as some of them began filing out of the stadium.

James clambered down to the first row and leaned over the edge dreamily. "We did it! This is AMAZING!" he yelled. Behind him, even Remus had cheered up and was grinning, as Sirius joined James next to his side and spread out his arms.

"WE ARE THE WINNERS!"

A few older students laughed from behind, but joined him anyways.

Soon, the quidditch pitch was cleared as the Slytherins sulkily hiked up back to the castle and the Gryffindors ran with excitement.

"PARTY IN THE COMMON ROOM!" A Gryffindor seventh year yelled. A bunch of cheers and whoops responded, and the crowd of Gryffindors bounded towards the common room.

"I'll see you in a second—I'm going to meet up with Severus!" Lily told Marlene cheerily.

Marlene was too happy to object. "All right, see you later!"

Lily briskly walked towards the crowd of Slytherins, who all eyed her accusingly as she pushed her way through the crowd of green and silver, her maroon and gold outfit easily setting her apart from the crowd. At last, she spotted Severus and his hunched shoulders as he trudged up the hill.

"Sev!" Lily called.

Severus turned around, but not with as much interest as he normally should've shown. "Oh, hey Lily."

"Great game, wasn't it? Never seen anything like that in my life," Lily panted, a huge smile plastered on her face.

"Yeah…" Severus said distantly, looking past Lily's shoulders. "Great game. Too bad Slytherin had to lose." He said the last part with a bit too much sourness and disdain.

Lily cocked her head to the side. "Wait, are you mad, just because of the game?"

"No," Severus said.

"You're lying."

"Fine, it's rather annoying, so stop grinning like a idiot."

Lily's eyes widened with shock. "Excuse me? What's gotten into you? Are you mad at _me_? For Gryffindor winning?"

"No, I'm just... I'm not mad at you for _that_."

"So you are mad at me, then?"

"No, I'm not mad _at_ you, I'm just mad that you're in Gryffindor."

"So what if I'm in Gryffindor?"

"I just wish you were in Slytherin, that way you weren't surrounded by so many bobbleheads."

"I'm sorry, _what_? _Bobbleheads_? _What_ , Severus, has gotten into you? You're _not_ yourself. You're _not_ this... _mean_."

"I'm not mean, I'm just telling the truth."

"What? So I'm a bobblehead, too then?"

"No, but you're gonna be if you keep sticking around that lot."

"Oh my... ugh! What has gotten into you, Sev?" Lily's eyes began to water, and Snape immediately softened a bit.

"I'm sorry, Lily, I didn't mean—"

"What? You didn't mean what? I don't know what's gotten into you, lately, _Severus_ ," she spat his name out this time, instead of in the gentle, kind way she normally spoke it. "I don't know where you've suddenly developed all of this...prejudice, against Gryffindors, but until you fix it and stop being so mean about us, I'm not talking to you."

Tears jumped out of Lily's eyes and she turned on her heel and ran away.

"Lily! I'm sorry! No—wait! Lily, come back! I'm sorry!" Severus called desperately after her, but he was too frozen for his feet to move after her.

Instead, he watched, heartbroken, as her auburn hair disappeared down the lawn and into the castle.

Lily reached the Gryffindor common room, and was jolted by surprise when she saw the wave of maroon and gold jumping up and down, hollering and partying like animals. Her stomach flip-flopped and she tore up the stairs to the dormitory. She was not in the mood for this.

She ran into the dormitory and jumped onto the bed, crying into her pillow.

"Lily?" A tentative voice said.

Lily looked up, and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "Oh...hey, Alice. Sorry, I'm just, er...tired. How come you're not down at the party?"

"Oh, big party's aren't really my type. Make me feel a bit, well, claustrophobic, to be honest. How about you? Are you all right? What's happened?" Alice asked sweetly.

"It's nothing," Lily said quickly, wiping her eyes again.

"Oh, Lils…" Alice walked over to Lily's bed, climbed on, and sat with her legs criss-crossed across Lily. "You can talk to me, we're friends."

Lily hiccupped and dragged her sleeve across her eyes again, which was now sticky and wet with her tears. "It's, it's Sev. I mean, Severus. He's just so...mean, lately! He keeps saying horrible things, and today he was being so mean about Gryffindors, and well, you guys, I suppose."

"What'd he say?"

"He told me," Lily hiccupped. "He said we're all bobbleheads, whatever that means, but it doesn't sound like a compliment. And he got all sour about the game, as well, and kind of blamed it on me." Tears streamed out of Lily's eyes again, and she picked up her comforter, rubbing her face into it.

"Oh, Lily...I hate to be like Marlene, but I told you he's no good...That boy just isn't in his right mind. I hear that he's very interested in the dark arts…"

"I'm sure he's interested in the _defence_ against the dark arts class."

"No, no, I heard him once complaining that Hogwarts doesn't teach dark arts, and only the defence. He said it's much more interesting to learn how to perform the actual dark magic."

Lily let out a little yelp and then a sob, and Alice quickly recovered. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it that way...maybe he's just interested in the concept, but not actually doing it…"

"He's not supposed to be like this! He didn't used to be like this! But ever since we've started classes at Hogwarts, he's gotten so...sinister. Oh, I just hope I can stop him…"

"Lily, it'll be allright. Even if he does turn into a baddy, you've still got me, Marlene, Gwenog, and Mary, and we will always be here for you."

Lily smiled, hiccupped, and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "Thanks, Alice. Thanks for listening to me...not many people would understand why I hang out with a Slytherin," Lily half-laughed, half-choked.

"Of course," Alice smiled, reaching out to hug Lily. "That's what friends are for!"

The door burst open, and Marlene came running in eagerly, holding sweets in her hands. "Whew! That was crazy."

"Crazy fun!" Gwenog said, coming into the door after Marlene, followed by Mary, who simply smiled.

"You shouldn't have missed it, Alice! You too, Lily! Where were you?"

Lily quickly shut her bed hangings so her friends wouldn't see her tear-stained face, "Oh, just met up with someone. I-I think I'll head to bed now."

"Are you kidding?" Marlene tore open the bed hangings, and Lily quickly ducked under her blankets. "It's four o'clock in the afternoon! What's the matter with you?"

"Nuffing, jusht tired. Game wore me out," Lily mumbled, her voice muffled under the blankets.

Marlene grabbed the edge of the blankets, and ripped them off of Lily.

"Hey!"

"Get. Up. What's the matter with you?"

"What's the matter with _you_?"

"Wait, were you...were you crying?"

"No."

"Yes, you were."

"No, I wasn't."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Oh, please, Lily. You're a horrible liar."

"I'm not lying."

"Just leave her alone, Marly," Alice sighed. "When she feels like telling you, she will." Alice paused. "You will, right?"

"Sure."

Marlene narrowed her eyes, but then shut Lily's bed hangings and walked over to her own bed. The other girls stood watching, looking a bit concerned for Lily.

"Is she alright?" Lily heard Mary whisper to Alice.

Lily sighed and snuggled up in her bed as she heard Alice say "Let's just leave her alone for a little while," and they slipped out of the dormitory with a click of the door. It was all silent now in the dormitory, and Lily stared up at the ceiling of her bed.

She couldn't understand Severus' behavior. What if this was just the beginning of Severus' behavior? What if he was only becoming more mean?

Lily squeezed a tear out of her face. She wished their relationship could be back to the old days, when Severus would smile every time he saw her rather than make that horrible, sour face. She wished they could just laugh and chat like they used to, instead of getting into silly fights all the time.

Lily sighed, rolled over, and leaned into her pillow. If only Severus would realize how he was acting...


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Here is the new chapter! I really hope you guys like this one! Also, because I forgot to in the last chapter, I want to give a shoutout to goldie24 for giving me my first review on this story! Thank you so much for your kind words, I am so glad that you guys are enjoying this story! As always, you are welcome to review anything you want, whether it is constructive criticism or just a good word on my story! Thanks again!

 **Chapter 8: The Marauders  
Mid-November, 1971  
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

"We need a name."

"Er...James, we already have names. I'm Sirius, Remus is Remus, and Peter's is Peter. And you're James."

James shot Sirius a look of annoyance. "No, I mean _we_ need a name. We, as in our group."

"Uh huh...yeah, I'm still not sure what you mean."

"It's like a name for our group. Like a band or gang name...something that makes us sound cool," James smiled a flashy grin.

"That'd be brilliant!" Peter said. "What were you thinking?"

"Dunno, was hoping you guys had some ideas. Remus, you got anything?"

Remus winced. "Er...do we really _need_ a name? Don't you think we'll look, er...childish?"

A look of hurt and offense quickly took over James' face. Immediately, Remus recovered his mistake: "But it sounds like a brilliant idea!"

James cheered back up. "Brilliant! Sirius, have you got anything?"

"Nah, we'll think of something."

The boys turned around the corner into Potions class. "Great, double potions," Peter grunted.

"Yeah, now we have to listen to Slughorn fawn over Snivellus and Evans," Sirius whined. "Snape! My boy, my perfect greasy-haired sour-faced Slytherin boy!" Sirius mocked.

Peter and James laughed, while Remus sighed.

"Hello, my dear students!" Slughorn bellowed as he heaved himself out of a chair and wobbled up to the front of the classroom. "How are you?"

"Good," the students mumbled.

"I'm AMAZING!" James hollered.

All of the heads turned to look at James in the back of the class, who was beaming. Lily wrinkled her nose as she watched him.

Slughorn chuckled, "Potter, my boy, you do very well at brightening up one's day. Now, class, shall we get started?"

Slughorn listed off the ingredients, steps, and tips for the potion they were making that day: Wiggenweld Potion. "All right, my dear students, you may get started!"

The class buzzed around as students stood up from their seats to collect ingredients and find the steps in the textbook.

"Hey, er...Lily, can I talk to you?" Severus asked, standing over Lily. Lily had moved seats next to Marlene in Potions class to avoid talking to Severus, whom she was quite disappointed in at the moment.

However, once she saw Severus timidly looking at her again, she felt the usual return of sentiment. "Not, now, Severus. After class, I suppose."

Severus relaxed, "Thanks."

"No need to thank me," Lily said briskly, standing up to go collect the potions ingredients.

Severus watched after her.

"Uh, you can leave now," Marlene said, her face tight and her tone demanding.

"Oh, right. Sorry."

Marlene glared after him as he scurried away to his station with the Slytherins. She didn't understand why Lily kept giving the boy chances. He wa rude, sour, impolite, and quite frankly, not the most attractive. Marlene could not find anything to like about the boy, and she simply did not understand what Lily saw in him.

"Hey, Marly! I'm back with the ingredients!" Lily chortled, her arms stuffed with different potions supplies.

"Oi! Marlene! Have you started the potion yet? We need some help!" Sirius called.

Before Marlene could even open her mouth, Lily was scolding the boys. "No, Black, we haven't started our potion yet. And as for help, you should be doing it on your own. However, I will give you one piece of advice. Perhaps you should start off by _getting your ingredients_!"

"Geez, Evans. Calm down," James said.

"Shut up, Potter!"

"Chill _out_!"

"I said, shut up!"

"Woah, ho, Evans! Let's settle down a bit, huh?" Slughorn chuckled.

Lily shot a glare at James and then said, "Yes, Professor. I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize, my girl," Slughorn laughed, as he strode along once again past the other students.

James and Sirius stuck their tongues out and made googly faces at Lily now.

Lily set her jaw, and turned around to start forcefully dunking her ingredients into the cauldron.

"Woah!" Marlene said as Lily began stirring the potion aggressively. "Calm down, there, Lils!"

"I am calm," Lily said stiffly, her hands clenching the stirring rod as it clanged against the cauldron.

Marlene opened her mouth to protest, but figured it would not do much for Lily.

"Hey, Evans!" James yelled. "You're making a bit of a ruckus, there! Stir a little more gently, won't you?"

Marlene watched in horror, sure that Lily was going to pop her teeth out from how hard she was clenching them. "Ignore them, Lils...they're just little prats."

"Funny you're friends with them."

Marlene shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose I like having prats as friends. I mean, look at you!"

At this, Lily finally relaxed a bit and laughed. "I suppose I am a prat, sometimes, aren't I?"

Marlene giggled. "We all are, but none of us are as big of prats as those four are." She pointed at James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter, who were scrambling around their cauldrons, frantically trying to organize their ingredients and stir the potion while looking at the instructions.

Lily wanted to laugh just watching them. "Their potions skills are rather pathetic, aren't they?"

"Oh, yes," Marlene chuckled. "Seems as if that's their only weakness, though."

Lily bit her lip, because she was sure she could easily debate that with a load of evidence.

When class finished, Lily had once again, recieved full marks on their potion, much to Marlene's relief, who had not been doing as well as her friend in the class.

Lily walked outside of the classroom, and Severus caught up with her from behind. "Hey, Lily...so can we talk?"

Lily sighed. "I suppose."

"Look, I'm sorry for what I said after the quidditch match. It wasn't very nice. Can you please just be friends with me again?"

Lily looked at him long and hard. "Why would you wanna be friends with a bobblehead?"

"Look, I didn't mean that! I just said it!"

"You sure? Because you sure seemed like you meant it when you said it."

"Well, I didn't mean it. Please, Lily! Please! I just want to be friends with you again...I just want you to talk to me again…"

Lily glared at him, at his pitiful, sallow face, and sighed. "I suppose. But, Sev, please stop acting so horrible. If you keep it up, I certainly will not be friends with you anymore."

Severus seemed elated. "Of course, Lily! Thank you, thanks!"

"No need to thank friends," Lily smiled.

Severus felt as if his little heart would burst out of his chest. "Right!"

"What'd you have next period?"

"Oh, break period. And then Defence Against the Dark Arts."

"Ah...your favorite class, right?"

"I suppose...although I kind of wish they would teach more about the dark arts themselves...just so we know how to defend ourselves," Severus added the last part quickly under Lily's furrowed eyebrows.

"You sure about that, Snivelly?" James voice came from the cluster of four boys leaning against the wall close to Severus and Lily. "You say you only want to learn the dark arts to defend others, but I'm sure you're only saying that to please Evans," James sniggered.

"Oh, stop it, Potter! If anything, I'm sure you're the one interested in the dark arts! What, with all your hexes and jinxes…"

"Hey!" James snapped, rather sharply for his normally relaxed demeanor. "I am _not_ interested in the dark arts! Hexes and jinxes are nothing even close to that of what Snivelly buries his greasy nose in at the library every night!"

"What are you—" Snape started.

"You know what I'm talking about, Snivelly. I know how many books you've borrowed from the library over the dark arts."

"They're...They're all _defence_ against the dark arts books. And what have you been doing? Spying on me?"

"Oh, please, Snivellus. As if anyone cares enough about you to _spy_."

"Just shut up, already, Potter!" Lily fumed. "Can you try, for once, to stop sticking your nose into everyone else's business?"

"Oh, you're one to talk, Evans."

Lily's cheeks were flaming red now, and before she knew it, Severus had drawn his wand. "Don't talk to Lily like that!"

James drew out his wand as well. "Don't talk to _me_ like that."

Lily's eyes widened. "Stop it! _Both_ of you!"

"Get out of the way, Lily," Snape snarled.

James spun his wand quickly through his fingers and then pointed it at Severus again. "Fancy a duel, then, Snivelly? Bet you won't even be able to make it through two spells!"

"Oh, stop it, both of you! First years like you two! There's no way you two can duel without being pathetic at it!" Lily tried desperately to get them to drop their wands. She turned to Severus. "Please, Sev!"

Severus ignored her with difficulty, and Sirius drew his wand as well. "Get out of the way, Evans."

"Too scared to go one on one, Potter?" Severus snickered.

"Oh, please, Snivelly. Drop your wand, Sirius. I can do this on my own—"

" _Flipendo!_ " Sirius yelled, catching Severus off guard.

The spell hit Severus on his right shoulder, and he was sent cascading and then slammed into a wall.

"Oh, my god!" Lily shrieked. "Professor told us not to practice defence against the dark arts spells on _each other_!" Lily started towards Severus, but he stirred, and then crawled back up, but not before James and Sirius had already advanced on him.

"Stop it, James and Sirius! You're going to get in trouble!" Remus begged.

"Nothing new," James responded calmly.

Remus looked panicked.

"Got anything for us, Severus? Or are you too scared?"

Shakily, Severus brought up his wand, but not before Sirius cast another knockback jinx at him.

Lily was crying now, gasping "Stop! Stop! Please, stop!" between shaky breaths.

Peter was cheering on James and Sirius, who were now taking their turns at throwing basic jinxes and hexes at Severus.

However, before Remus barely disappeared around the corner of the corridor, Professor Slughorn had squeezed out of his classroom and was blubbering to stop the fight, looking a little shocked. "Boys! Boys!"

Immediately, James and Sirius lowered their wands. Severus leaned against the wall, barely starting to raise his wand.

"James, Sirius! What were you—"

He looked between the three boys, still looking rather confused and surprised. He had barely opened his mouth, when the click-click of boots came briskly down the hallway.

"What—in the name of Merlin is going on here?" McGonagall asked shrilly, her lips thin and eyes icy as ever. Behind her, Remus hid, looking rather embarrassed, and quite frankly, scared, of showing himself to James and Sirius.

"Potter, Black! I suppose this is your doing again?"

"Sorry, professor! I'm not sure how it happened—" _  
_  
"Quiet, Potter! Don't try to act innocent! Your show will not work on me! Detention, for a week, everyday, both of you! Horace, take Snape to the hospital wing, and he shall earn one detention as well. Fifty points from Gryffindor!"

"Of course, Minerva," Slughorn stuttered, as he placed his hands around Severus and tried to help him up.

Severus shrug him off, but after wincing when putting pressure on his leg, Slughorn had to heave him up and drag him down the corridor.

"Potter, Black, Pettigrew, follow me," McGonagall ordered. "You as well, Evans."

Lily paled in shock and fear. "Me?" She squeaked. "But, professor—"

"I know you have not done anything wrong, Evans. However, I must need a witness."

Terrified, James, Lily, Sirius, and Peter followed McGonagall to her office.

When they reached her office, McGonagall sat down in her chair, and with a flick of her wand, conjured up four chairs on the other side of the desk. "Sit."

Immediately, the students obeyed. Lily did not even squirm at the fact that she had to sit next to James.

McGonagall pushed basket in front of the students. "Have a biscuit, you four," she sighed.

They all looked startled, and when none of them moved, McGonagall repeated, "Have a biscuit, now."

Confused, they each reached out a hand tentatively, grabbed a biscuit, and took a small bit out of it.

"I am extremely disappointed in you four. Yes, even you, Evans," McGonagall said as Lily flinched in protest. "Never did I dream that Gryffindors would behave in this manner. Attacking your own, fellow students? I believe I am being quite generous by only giving you three a detention for one week. As for you, Evans? Why didn't you get me, or any other professor sooner? If you had, I might've been able to save Mr. Snape a few injuries."

Lily began to weep. "I'm sorry, Professor! I-I knew I sh-sh-should've done something, but I was just so s-scared! I didn't know what to do! A-and poor Sev!" She suddenly whipped around and glared loathingly at the boys through her tears. "How could you? You three must be mental, hurting him like that!"

"Calm down, Evans," McGonagall said. "Calm your tears, and have another biscuit."

"B-but I haven't even f-finished my first—"

"Have another biscuit, Evans."

Reluctantly, Lily took another biscuit, unsure what to do with it.

"Now, Evans, please tell me exactly what happened after potions class."

Lily began telling the story, with a few protests in between from James and Sirius. When she finished, McGonagall sighed deeply. "Boys, I am very disappointed in you, and I hope after your punishment, you do learn your lesson. Please, do not shame the Gryffindor house again." She peered down at the three boys, James and Sirius sitting tall and proud, Peter hunched up looking terrified. "Marauders, you boys are, running around the castle hexing fellow students. Absolute, little marauders, you boys are. Know what that means?"

The three boys shook their heads.

"The term marauder means," McGonagall started with a sigh, "One who roams around, attacking and raiding others. Sound familiar?"

The boys did not answer, but instead squirmed in their seats.

"Ah...I thought precisely that," McGonagall said. "Well, then, meet me for detention right after dinner everyday for this next week. You are not to miss it, under any circumstances. Understood?" The boys gave her a feeble nod. "As for you, Evans, please watch over Mister Snape for me, and your fellow Gryffindors as well. I hope that we will not have another incident like this. Is that clear?"

"Of course, Professor," Lily answered.

"All right, then. You may leave," McGonagall said, and the students got up out of their seats and eagerly slipped out of McGonagall's office.

"Minnie's a bit mad, isn't she?" Sirius joked.

"How dare you?" Lily hissed. "You have no respect, Black, and I pity you for that!" She huffed angrily, and then turned on her heel and scurried down the corridor towards Gryffindor tower.

"Reckon Evans is a bit mad as well, no?" Sirius added.

"I got it!" James yelped excitedly, suddenly.

"What? Detention?" Peter grunted.

"No, Peter! Well, I guess yes, actually, but at the same time, no! What I mean is, I've got a name for us!"

"What is it?" Peter asked excitedly.

"We are the...Marauders! Didn't it sound rather cool when McGonagall said it back there?"

"Yes!" Peter agreed enthusiastically.

"Good with me," Sirius added.

"I'm sure Remus will love it as well!" James chortled. "Perfect, the Marauders we are!"

And with that, the three boys cheerily doddled down the corridor after Lily. It was then, one can suppose, that the reign of the Marauders truly began.


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Whoot whoot! Chapter 9 marks the halfway point of the twenty chapters (including the prologue if you're why I can't do math) in The Marauders Era: Year 1! Thank you so much to those of you who have followed/favorited/reviewed on this story! You rock! Soon enough, Year 2 will be a work in progress, and at one point, all seven years will be finished! I am beyond excited! I have already begun writing some chapters for Years 2-7, and they are looking pretty great! In the meantime, enjoy this halfway chapter!

 **Chapter 9:Let it Snow!  
First Weekend of December, 1971  
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

It was a cold December Friday, and the rather gloomy weather was beginning to take a toll on the attitude of the students at Hogwarts.

"And as a result of the Werewolf Code of Conduct developed in 1637…" Professor Binns lectured in a monotone voice of disinterest. However, hardly any of the students were looking at him, but were now staring out the window eagerly.

"Look, look! It's snowing!" Marlene yelled in excitement, breaking the silence upon the students and Professor Binns' lecture.

"Yes, yes, nothing you haven't seen before. Now, although the Werewolf Code of Conduct seemed a great plan to some, not a single person showed up to sign the actual document…" Binns continued, droning on about the lesson.

James felt like he was about to fall asleep. "This class is so useless," he whisper-grunted to Remus, who was a pale color of white. "What've we got to learn about werewolves anyway? It's not like there's one in the school," James complained.

The little color left in Remus' face drained. "Er...right."

"You all right?" James asked, finally noticing Remus' state of discomfort.

"Oh, yes. Er...quite all right, just cold," Remus quickly lied.

"Ah…" James did not quite believe Remus entirely, but was not in the mood to interview him about it.

Longingly, the student's tuned out of Binn's lesson, excited to go outside and play in the snow. It seemed that everybody but Lily had taken an interest to the white flakes floating and drifting outside rather than to Professor Binns' lecture.

Busily, Lily scribbled down notes, the sound of her quill scratching against the parchment echoing through the rather silent classroom.

"All right, students. Class is out. Leave now, please. Have a great weekend, blah, blah, blah…"

Everybody's bags were already packed, and students jumped out of their seats and scurried out of the classroom the second the words left Binns' mouth.

"Hurry up, Lily! Honestly, why do you care enough about this class to take notes?"

"Because, Marlene, I actually wish to do well in this class. Plus, what's got you rushing? We've still got herbology!"

"Yes, but we get to go outside in order to reach the herbology classroom, Lils! Then, we'll be able to see the snow!"

"What's everyone so excited about? It's just snow. Like Professor Binns' said, it's nothing we haven't seen before."

"Yes, but it's our first snow at Hogwarts, Lily! Now, hurry up or else I'm leaving without you!"

Lily glared at Marlene, packed her last quill into her bag and then scuffled out the classroom to herbology.

"Wonder what Professor Sprout's got to teach us today," Lily chirped curiously.

"Don't know, don't care," Marlene responded flatly.

Lily frowned.

When they reached outside, Marlene threw her hands out above her head and began twirling under the snowfall. "Come on, Lils!"

Lily's cheeks were already stinging numb with the cold, and she looked at the snowflakes questioningly. "Eh…"

"Come on, you have to come out here to get to herbology anyways!"

"Yes…"

Lily stepped out into the snow, and quickly walked past Marlene into the herbology greenhouses. She could feel Marlene judging her as she passed her.

In the herbology greenhouse, there was still a chill lingering in the air, but for the most part, the greenhouse was humid.

Lily sat down next to Mary, who was prodding a plant with her finger, looking bored.

"Hey, Mary!" Lily said sweetly as she slipped her bag off her shoulder and began emptying it out.

"Oh, hey, Lils," Mary responded, rather bluntly.

"Long day?" Lily asked.

"Quite."

"Well, after this class, it will be the weekend at least!"

"Yes, that should be exciting. With the snow as well!"

Lily beamed. "Cheer up, Mary, we're going to need quite the positive attitude for herbology."

"How come?"

"Dunno. Last class before the weekend, would like to start the weekend off on a cheery note, wouldn't you?"

"I suppose so, yes."

"All right, class," Madam Pomfrey called, wobbling to the front of the greenhouse. "Let's get started!"

The rest of herbology class was quite dull to most of the students, and when it was time to pack up and leave, everybody was more than willing to do so.

Marlene, in particular, was in such a rush to get out of the classroom that she started "helping" Lily pack up by grabbing all of Lily's books, quills, and notes off the table and dunking them into her bag with a _thud_!

"Whoa! Calm down there, Marly!"

"All, right! Time to get out!" Marlene cheered and she zipped out of the classroom and twirled around under the snow once again. "Oh, it's so beautiful! Come out and play, Lils!"

"Er...don't you want to grab dinner first?"

"No, it'll be dark after dinner! Come on, Lils! Let's just play for twenty minutes and then we can go to dinner."

Lily sighed. "Oh, I suppose. It really is so cold, though, Marly."

"You'll forget about the cold when you have fun! Here, let's make snow angels!" Marlene lay down in the snow and began moving her arms and legs around her.

Lily looked down at her, awkwardly playing with her mittens. "Er...Marly, you're going to catch a cold. You're laying in the snow with just your robes on."

"Oh, come on, Lils! Why so serious?"

Lily stared at Marlene, whose nose and cheeks were tinged with red. "Marly, you look cold. Maybe you don't feel like it, but perhaps we should go inside."

Marlene stopped swinging her arms and legs, and sat up. She glared at Lily for a second, and then grabbed a tuft of snow in her mittens and threw it away from her, the snow landing with a poof as it exploded into a cloud of flakes. "Fine, then. If you wish to be such a killjoy."

"I'm not trying to be a killjoy. Let's play tomorrow when we can get coats and be a little more warm."

"Yeah, yeah…"

Marlene marched through the snow irritably back into the castle, Lily hurrying after her.

* * *

"All right, everybody! Wake up! Hurry, before the snow melts! And put on your coats as well, that way Lils doesn't try to kick us back inside again!"

Lily sat up and glared at Marlene. "Better be warm than have you complaining about a cold you caught outside."

"Whatever, Lils, you're always so uptight. Anyways, let's hurry outside so we can meet up with them and play some snow games!"

"Them?" Mary asked. "Who's them?"

"Oh, just the boys. You know, Potter, Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew."

"WHAT?" Lily shrieked. "I'm not going then," she said flatly.

"Oh, please, Lils! What've you got against them?"

Lily's eyes bulged. "You have got to be kidding me!"

"Okay, fine, I suppose you don't get along the greatest. But please come, Lils! It'll be so fun! You don't even have to talk to them!"

"Of course I will not talk to them! But they are just so loud and attract so much unwanted attention that it is right impossible to ignore them!"

"Fine! If you want to be stubborn, fine. We'll just be heading out to have some fun, while you can shut yourself up in here alone."

Lily glared at Marlene coldly. After a momentary staring contest, Lily gave up, tossed her blankets into the air, and screamed "Fine!"

Marlene grinned victoriously.

When the girls were all dressed and ready, they marched down to the Great Hall, where the boys were nonexistent. "Ah, the Marauders' sleep pattern is in your favor, Lils! Looks as if they will be late!"

"Marauders?"

"Oh, yes, have you not heard? They got themselves a name, fashioned by Minnie McGonagall herself!"

"Marlene!" Lily snapped.

"What?"

"Don't call Professor McGonagall that!"

"What? Minnie?"

"Yes!"

"What's wrong with it?"

"It's disrespectful and degrading!"

"Oh, please, Lily! Loosen up!"

" _You_ tighten up!"

"Are you kidding me?"

"Enough!" Gwenog silenced the girls. "When are we going to learn to keep the Marauders out of our conversations? It always ends with you two quarreling!"

" _You_ use their name too?" Lily asked incredulously.

"Well, it's certainly faster than saying Potter, Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew!"

"Oh, I'm sure that's the _only_ reason!"

"All, right! That's certainly enough this time!" Mary said. "Let's just eat our breakfast and go! Or talk about something else!"

When they finished with their breakfast, they hiked out close to the lake, and began playing around in the snow.

"Let's build a snowman!" Alice said excitedly, rolling up snow.

Marlene threw a snowball at Alice's now disembodied snowman. "Hey!"

"Oops! I meant to get _you_!" Marlene laughed.

In response, Alice chucked a snowball with surprising force at Marlene, who was hit square in the face. "Oof!"

"Jeez, Ali! Since when do you get aggressive?" Lily laughed, getting a snowball to the face. "Hey!"

And soon the girls were all chucking snowballs at each other, laughing and running around as they tried to dodge each other.

Lily was having surprising fun out in the cold, and she shrieked with delight when she hit Marlene in the shoulder. Her glory, however, was short-lived when she felt a very forceful snowball slam into her side, toppling her over into the soft snow.

"Hey!" Lily looked around for her attacker, picking up a snowball to get revenge on them.

"Hold your fire, Evans!"

Lily's smile vanished. " _You_?"

"Yep! Did Marlene not tell you who else she invited?"

"No, she told me. I just don't care."

"Of course you care, Evans!"

"Get over yourself, Potter!"

"That's a lot to ask, Eva—" _Foomp!_ A snowball hit James squarely in the face, knocking his glasses off his perched nose. When he groped around and had found his glasses again, he opened his eyes to see Lily smiling with satisfaction.

"Oi! What was that for, Evans?"

"You hit me first, Potter! Or are you too stupid to remember that?"

"Ouch, Evans! Also, you broke my glasses, so you have to fix them!"

"Fix them yourself, Potter!"

" _You_ fix them! You were the one that broke them!"

"Oh, please, Potter! It's a very simple spell, really!" Lily walked closer to James, still keeping as much distance between them as she possibly could. She took her wand out of her coat, and pointed them at James' glasses: "Oculus Reparo!"

As soon as she cast the spell, Lily turned around and walked back to the group, which was now an intense snowball fight between Marlene and Sirius as everyone else cheered them on.

James stared at the back of Lily through his repaired glasses in shock. _She really is quite a brilliant witch_ , he thought, before quickly shaking himself out of his trance and running to cheer on Sirius.

Eventually, Marlene hit Sirius in one eye, leaving him sprawled on the ground crying "I'm in pain! I'm in pain!"

Everyone else laughed, as James tried very hard to drag his best friend up the hill through the snow. "Jeez, Sirius! How much do you weigh!"

"I feel heavier because I'm wearing a winter coat."

"Or maybe it's because you ate seven pieces of toast this morning," Peter chirped, walking alongside them.

"Quit talking and help me drag him, Peter!" James groaned as he tugged violently on Sirius' arm.

"Oi! Careful, James! You're gonna pull my arm off!"

"Yes, that would be a shame," James said dryly. He dropped Sirius' arm. "All right! Sorry, mate, but I'm tired of dragging you around! Peter, it's your turn!"

"I don't want to drag him around!"

"Well, someone's got to drag me!"

"Come on, Sirius," James grunted. "So what if you have a tiny black eye, your legs weren't injured!"

"Wait, I have a black eye?"

"Well, yes. Marlene hit you square in your eye! No way you could have survived that without a black eye!"

"Oh my God!" Sirius immediately scrambled up. "My face!" He ran off into the castle, undoubtedly to find a mirror.

"Jeez, what a girl," Peter sighed.

"Shall we follow him?" James asked, with a slight laugh. "He's going to be devastated."

"Yes! But we have to hurry back to Gryffindor tower after, I've still got that Transfiguration essay Minnie gave us to write."

"It's too bad Remus isn't here. We could just copy off him."

"How come he keeps disappearing without notice? He could have told us that he was leaving last night."

"Yeah, otherwise we wouldn't have wasted this morning trying to find him again."

The boys trudged back up to the castle through the snow, trying to solve the mystery of their friend as they left a trail of small footprints behind.


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Hey guys! Thanks for visiting the tenth chapter of this story! Just wanted to let you know that I have decided upon a new updating schedule, in case some of you guys haven't figured it out yet. I will be posting new chapters every Tuesday and Friday, so keep your alerts on! Thank you to everybody who has been reading!

 **Chapter 10: Jingle Bells, Snivelly Smells**

 **Mid-December, 1971**

 **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

"I think I might hate Tuesdays more than Mondays," Peter whined. They were sitting in the Great Hall for dinner, the Great Hall now decorated with green, red, and gold tassle in the spirit of Christmas season.

"I think I hate them all," Sirius groaned in agreement. "What about you, Remus?"

"Oh, I don't really have a preference."

"How come your scratches never heal?" James inquired, leaning over the table to look at Remus' face. "They always seem to come close to healing, but then once you come back from home they're all fresh again."

"Oh...oh, really?" Remus asked, tenderly touching his scratches.

"Yeah, what do your parents do to you when you go home?" James lowered his voice and whispered, "Do they beat you? Because if they do, it's alright to tell us. We can tell Dumbledore!"

Remus paled. "What?! No! Not at all! I'm...I'm not really sure how I keep getting scratches. I probably just haven't been careful."

"Hey, did you hear about what the sixth years heard in Hogsmeade?" Sirius asked, unknowingly saving Remus from James' interrogation.

"Oh, yeah, that," James said in a bored voice.

"What?" Peter asked.

"Just some rumor the sixth years heard from the village. About some howling noises or something from the Shrieking Shack one night last week," James said. "They think the place is haunted," he scoffed.

"Is it?" Peter asked, his eyes wide with interest.

"Dunno," Sirius said. "Everyone's too scared to check. Said they've been hearing noises there ever since the school year began. That's why they call it the Shrieking shack. Cowards, they are. What's the worst it could be? What do you think, Remus? You're the smart one."

Remus had gone extremely pale. "Oh...I dunno, a...a ghost, perhaps?"

"S'the matter with you? You look all white. Are you _scared_?"

"No, I'm c-cold." Remus did a very fake, violent shiver.

"Yeah…" Sirius said, narrowing his eyes.

"Oh, blimey!" James said, checking his wrist watch. "We've got to get to Potions! Can't be late again, or we'll have to be partnered with Slytherins!"

The boys swung their bags over their shoulders and ran out into the corridor, skidding around corners and running down stairs until they reached the Potions classroom.

When they pushed the doors open, everybody in the class turned around in their seats.

"Ah...Potter, Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew! My boys!" Slughorn bellowed. "Just in time!"

"We're sorry, Professor! We lost track of time at breakfast!" Remus begged for mercy.

James elbowed him in the side. "We're not late, Remus."

"Oh." Remus' legs stopped wobbling like jelly.

"Take a seat, now, boys."

The boys scrambled over to where the other Gryffindors were.

"All right, Evans?" James asked as he sat down behind her.

Lily simply glared at him and turned around.

James moved his eyes over to Marlene, who was sitting in front of Lily and had a look of comical amusement on her face. Severus, who was sitting next to Lily, shot James a look of deepest dislike.

"Today, students we are brewing the Forgetfulness potion. Now, who can tell me the key ingredients?"

Lily's hands shot up in the air.

"How about you, Black?" Slughorn asked.

Sirius looked up suddenly. Slughorn almost never called on people at random. Sirius opened his mouth wide , moving his jaw left, and then uttered "I forget, Professor."

The class giggled.

"Well, that's quite all right. Do study though, Black. What about you, Evans? You seem to know the answer?"

"Yes, Professor! One key ingredient is Valerian Sprigs!"

"Excellent! Five points to Gryffindor House!"

"Hey, Snivelly!" James took out his quill and reached across his desk, poking Severus' back with the quill. "D'you take forgetfulness potions? I figure that must be the reason why you always forget to wash your hair!"

Sirius sniggered from next to James.

Severus flinched as the quill poked him, but he continued to stare at the front of the classroom, pretending as if he had not heard James.

Lily, however, turned around sharply, her green eyes flaring. "Shut up, Potter! If anything, you're the one who takes a Forgetfulness potion, always forgetting that you're _not_ the most important person in the world!" Lily whisper-hissed.

"Ouch, Evans!"

"Ah, Potter! My boy! Have you got another key ingredient for us?"

James looked up, and like Sirius, his mouth went dry. "Er...water?"

He saw Lily bite her lip from the corner of his eyes, and several students giggled throughout the room.

"Ah, yes, indeed, my boy. What kind of water, you say?"

"Er...potion water?"

Slughorn chuckled. "Not quite! It is actually Lethe River Water!"

"Right...that's what I meant."

The class gathered their potions ingredients and returned to their cauldrons, dumping their contents in and mixing the ingredients together.

"So, Snivelly!" James chortled casually, stirring his potion. "You sure you didn't take a Forgetfulness potion? How come you ended up on the Gryffindor side of the classroom? Forgot you're a Slytherin, huh? Well, I hate to break it to you, but you're not good enough to be a Gryffindor. Better remember that next Potions class!"

"He's here with me, Potter," Lily snapped. "And there are no 'sides' in the classroom. Now shut up and mind your own business."

"OooOoo, Snivelly's got a girlfriend!" Sirius sang. "Evans and Snivelly sitting in a tree! K-i-s-s-I-N-G!"

Lily's face was bright red. "He is _not_ my boyfriend! We're just friends! Unlike you, Black, I know the right kind to be friends with!"

Severus looked rather sour, considering Lily's statement should have been a compliment towards him.

"Hey, Snivelly, do you like Christmas songs? I'll bet your favorite is 'Jingle bells, Snivelly smells, greasy hair all day! Oh what fun it is to see my greasy hair all day! Hey!'"

James was laughing like a madman. "Great one, Sirius! Come on, everybody, all together!"

"Jingle bells, Snivelly smells, greasy hair all day! Oh what fun it is to see my greasy hair all day, hey!"

"Shut UP, Potter!"

"What is going on over here, eh?" Slughorn wobbled over.

"Professor, Potter and Black are making fun of Severus!"

"Ah, is that true, boys?"

"Of course not, Professor!"

"Ugh! Liars! Of course it's true, Professor! They're singing songs and making fun of Severus!"

"Ah, I hate to do this boys, but ten points from Gryffindor!"

"Wait, what?" Lily yelped. "You're taking points off? Why not a detention?"

"Ah, Evans!" James quipped. "Now you see what happens when you rat out your fellow Gryffindors!"

"No detention this time," Slughorn chuckled. "But this is your first warning, boys!" He merrily strode away, leaving a stunned Lily.

"You two got lucky!" Lily huffed angrily. "You should know that you cannot always get away with it!"

"Oh, we know, Evans!" James winked.

Lily's eyes popped in fury and she turned around back to her cauldron.

Sirius snickered, opened his mouth, but was cut off by Remus, who could see trouble. "So, er...any plans for the holidays?"

"Oh, yes!" James immediately responded. "Going home for the holidays! My mum always makes an amazing Christmas dinner! I'm most excited about my presents, though! Father said he's got something extra special for me this year! I really hope it's a Nimbus broom!"

"Wow, really?" Sirius asked in awe, and then his face dropped into worry. "I'm not so excited to be heading home, actually. Not really sure what my mum and dad are gonna think of me being in Gryffindor."

"Awe, c'mon, mate!" James chortled. "If they really love you, they shouldn't care! My parents wouldn't mind if I were in Slytherin! Of course, _I_ would probably beat myself in the head about it, but not my mum and dad!"

"I think I'm going home as well," Peter said. "My mum has been desperate for me to come home."

"Are you sure it's not the other way around?" Sirius teased.

Peter's cheeks flamed. "N-no! She s-sent me a letter!"

"I was just joking, Pete! Take it easy!"

"What about you, Remus?" James asked as he poured his Lethe river water in.

"I think I'll be going home as well. I'm quite excited to see my parents."

"I suppose it won't be much different for you, right, considering that you visit your mum every month?"

"Wha—oh...right."

The boys continued chatting about their Christmas plans throughout Potions class, still trying to guess James' mystery present as they exited the classroom.

Still inside, Severus waited patiently as Lily scooped her belongings off the desk. "Awful, they are…" she muttered.

"I'll bet you wish you were in Slytherin now."

Lily looked at Severus, her eyes bright with questioning. Severus had said it in a joking manner, but Lily could tell his true feelings did not quite match what came out his mouth. "I better head off to Charms, now," Lily said flatly.

"Er...right. Want to meet before dinner?"

"I suppose."

Severus watched as Lily scurried off, and then remembered he needed to rush to History of Magic himself.

After all of their classes were finished, the students' reorganized at the Great Hall for dinner.

Severus was leaning against the wall outside of the Great Hall, waiting for Lily. When he finally saw her auburn hair materialize from the crowd, he stood up straight.

"Hullo," Lily sighed. "How was your day?"

"Oh, fine."

"Good." Lily paused, and strained her ears towards the sound of singing in the Hall. "Oh, it seems as if people are singing Christmas songs now! Wanna go see?"

"Oh...sure," Severus said, his tone speaking otherwise. However, Lily did not pick up on it, and instead flounced off into the Great Hall.

As they entered, the song became more clear, with quite a roar of laughter in the background.

"Jingle Bells…."

Lily smiled excitedly. Was Christmas at Hogwarts always this festive? And then she heard the lyrics, and her face fell.

"Jingle Bells, Snivelly smells, greasy hair all day! Oh what fun it is to see my greasy hair all day, hey!"

Lily watched in horror as James and Sirius stood on the Gryffindor table, chanting away, the rest of the Great Hall laughing and some students singing along.

"Oi, look!" James hollered, so that all of the heads in the Great Hall followed the direction of his pointed finger towards Severus. "It's the star of our song! Come up, Snivellus! Sing it with us! Jingle Bells, Snivelly smells, greasy hair all day!"

Voices from the tables began to join James and Sirius.

"Shut up, Potter!" Lily tried to scream above all the noise.

Severus was cowering, looking extremely horrified with himself and completely defenseless.

"POTTER! BLACK!" A shrill voice sounded throughout the hall so that everybody stopped singing. " _What_ in the name of Merlin do you think you are doing?"

"Just singing some Christmas songs, Professor," James said casually.

"Don't play games with me, Potter!" McGonagall fumed. "I heard perfectly well what you were singing! GET DOWN!"

James and Sirius lightheartedly hopped off the table.

"Detention! Both of you! And twenty points from Gryffindor!"

"From your own house, Professor?"

"Did I _ask_ you to speak, Black?"

Sirius shook his head violently.

"I have had enough of you two's games! You will not treat any more students with disrespect, and you will not treat Hogwarts with disrespect! Once again, boys, you have shamed Gryffindor House."

McGonagall swiftly walked on towards the front of the Great Hall and promptly took a seat at a spot on the staff table.

The Great Hall was silent for a moment, and then chatter slowly began to erupt once again.

Lily turned her eyes from McGonagall to Severus, whose beady black eyes were so struck with hate and revenge Lily was struck with fear for a moment.

"Are you all right, Sev?"

Severus glared at her. "Just leave me alone, Lily." And he hurried outside of the Great Hall.

Lily watched after him, feeling horrible for him. How did he manage it? Being treated poorly both at home and at school. Lily could not imagine how horrible Severus must be feeling.

"Come on, Lils, just sit," Marlene chirped, patting the open spot next to her.

Lily slid into the seat reluctantly, and probed her food with her fork.

"Cheer up, Lily! There's no reason to be sad."

"I just feel so bad for Sev…"

"Yes, well, it's not your fault."

"I know, I just wish I could help him."

"Nobody can help Snivellus."

Lily's head jerked up, ready to fight. "Shut up, Potter!"

"I'm just saying!"

"Yes, well, nobody asked you to say anything! Just like nobody asked you to sing anything!"

"Calm down, Evans! I was just trying to get in the Christmas spirit!"

"And that was the only Christmas song you could think of?"

" _OH_ -kay!" Marlene yelled. "I think that's enough. James, stop being a little prat. And Lily, stop being so easily triggered."

Both opened their mouths to protest, but immediately shut them at Marlene's glare.

"Now, keep quiet! I do not want to hear any more bickering. Eat!"

Confused, Lily and James picked up their forks and began shoveling food into their mouths.

Marlene began eating along with them, a satisfied expression on her face. "I promise you two. One day, you're going to end up married with kids, and live happily ever after."

Lily's eyebrows shot up in disgust, and James dropped his fork in amusement. They shared a horrified and amused glance at each other. Funny, how for once, they decided to not argue.


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N:** Hello readers! Sorry for not updating for an entire week. I haven't been in the mood to write this story, but I promise I will finish it. I just needed a little break to come up with some new ideas. I promise I will always finish my stories because it bothers me like crazy when other writers abandon their stories midway. Anyways, enjoy this little chapter!

 **Chapter 11: Back from the Holidays**

 **Early January, 1972**

 **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

It was a busy day at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, as students returned from Christmas holiday, and were excitedly sharing how each of their holiday's had been.

"I got a new broom for Christmas! Of course, I only got to use it for a few days before I returned to Hogwarts. It's a real shame they will not let first-years bring brooms," Gwenog eagerly chirped.

"I also got quite a few nice things for Christmas!" Alice said. "But my favorite present was that our krup gave birth to some kruppies!"

"Awww," Marlene and Gwenog responded.

"What are krups or kruppies?" Mary asked.

"Oh, they are so cute!" Marlene explained. "They look just like those Jack Russell Terrier dogs that muggles have, except they have two tails!"

Lily had never heard of such a thing. "Do you have any pictures?"

"Well, not yet. But mum says she will owl me some pictures soon! For some reason, the kruppies are quite frightened of her. I suppose it's that vulture hat she wears."

Marlene gagged. "Your mum wears a vulture hat?"

"Well, yes."

"Why?"

"I dunno," Alice said promptly. "Anyways, how was your holiday, Lily?"

"Oh, it was alright, I suppose," Lily sighed.

"You don't seem too happy."

"Oh, I'm just tired," Lily said. She thought about it for a moment. Should she tell her friends how her Christmas really went? No, she didn't want to make it all about herself. In addition, Petunia hadn't been too horrible ‒ Lily had a feeling Petunia had only just started. "In fact, I think I'm going to head off to bed. It was quite a different and tiring holiday."

"Aw, alright, Lils. Hope you feel all refreshed by tomorrow morning," Alice said.

Lily slumped off to Gryffindor tower, where she curled up into her bed and shut her bed hangings. She stared up at the ceiling for a while, as she was actually nowhere near tired. She just wanted a moment to think.

The door creaked open, and footsteps padded into the room, and Marlene's pale face peaked out through Lily's bed hangings. "Hey, Lils! Are you alright?"

"Wha—Marlene! I told you I'm tired!"

"You don't _seem_ too tired," Marlene crawled through the bed hangings and sat at the end of Lily's bed. "Seriously, Lils! Are you alright? Before the holiday you wouldn't shut up about Christmas and now you're all quiet once we're talking about it. Did something happen over holiday? You can tell me!"

Lily glared at Marlene, and after a moment's hesitation, she said "Fine. But you mustn't tell anyone else. It's...it's rather embarrassing."

"Of course!" Marlene leaned forward with interest.

"Well," Lily hesitated, unsure where to start. She sighed deeply and played with her fingers. "You already know I'm from a muggle family right?"

"Yes."

"Well, I have a younger sister...Petunia."

"Yes, you told me a little bit about her."

"Yes, well, we used to be very close. But when I recieved my Hogwarts letter and started showing signs of magic, she kinda freaked out. And all of a sudden," Lily paused. She decided to skip over that Petunia had written to Dumbledore herself. "I became an annoying freak to her. And I wrote to her earlier this year, and she never responded. So over the holiday, I was hoping to talk to her, but she was so mad at me. I just...I don't understand why, really. When she invited her friends over, she told me to sit in my room and to not come out. Of course, when my mum found out, she was furious. Yelled at Petunia, so then Petunia yelled at me when my mum left the house to get something. She resents me oh, so much. I don't know why," Lily was fighting back tears now. "I really don't."

"Oh, Lily...Petunia's just a prat. She's just jealous of you. Forget about her."

"Forget? She's my sister!"

"Well, she isn't treating you like one! And anyways, I meant forget what she said to you. Things will get better, Lily."

Lily sighed. "Thanks, Marly...and please, don't tell anyone. It would look rather embarassing that my own sister hates me," Lily coughed back a sore laugh.

"Of course, and don't be embarrassed. Your sister should be."

"I think she _is_ ," Lily grumbled, wiping away a tear.

"C'mon," Marlene said, heaving Lily out of the bed. "Let's go outside, now that you're not actually tired!"

Lily glared at Marlene, and then heaved herself off the bed with a heavy sigh. "Fine."

As the two girls walked downstairs, they passed a group of boys who were eagerly chattering about their holiday. Actually, more like just one boy.

"We had a huge Christmas dinner! It was amazing! And then for New Years' Eve, mum and dad invited other families over for a huge party! There were all kinds of treats and desserts. It was so spectacular!"

"What did your dad end up getting you for that special Christmas present?"

"Oh...that," James said, immediately looking less enthusiastic. "It wasn't anything too special. Anyways, our house elf baked this delicious cake—"

"What did you get?"

"Oh, come on, Peter! Why do you care so much? I told you it's nothing too special."

"Well then why can't you tell us?"

"Fine! It's just this moldy cloak."

"Oh. That's it?"

"Exactly. I really thought dad was going to get me a Nimbus broom, but instead he gave me this moldy cloak. Here, let me go get it."

James stood up and ran upstairs to the boys dormitory, and within a few seconds returned with a silvery cloak in his hands. "Here it is. See, nothing special. It's rather ugly, too, if I'm being honest."

Remus lifted up a corner of the cloak. "Are you sure this is it? I'm sure there must be something magical to it. What did your dad say?"

"That I'll figure it out," James grunted, leaning against the sofa and crossing his arms.

"Have you even tried to wear it?"

"No. Something old like that...I was afraid I'd catch something from putting it on. Anyways, even if it did have some magical power, I'm sure it would've worn off by now. Old, that thing is."

"Can I try it on?"

"Go ahead." James looked extremely uninterested as he popped a Bertie's Every Flavor bean into his mouth and studied a chocolate frog card.

Remus swept it around himself and looked at the boys. "I don't feel anything. I don't feel smarter, more powerful, nothing. Maybe you're right, it probably doesn't have any powers."

"I told you." James spat the bean out of his mouth. "Ack! Booger flavor!"

"Hey!" Remus bounced back as the bean rolled over to his.

And as the two boys' eyes looked downwards and followed the bean, it was then that they realized Remus had no legs. Or feet. Or any entire body.

They both looked up and met each other's eyes, both filled with shock.

 **A/N:** Aaand it's a cliffhanger! Kinda a lame one since you guys probably know what happens next haha but it's still my first cliffhanger in the series! Anyways, stay tuned to read the next chapter! Also, friendly reminder to not be shy about reviews!


	13. Chapter 12

****A/N:**** Sorry I have not updated this story regularly recently. I have not been interested in writing in this story, and I am running out of ideas to keep this story in particular good and fresh. I promise I will finish this series and this story will be finished. This story will get so interesting and fun to read, it's just difficult to come up with interesting storylines for Year 1 since the characters are mostly rather young. I highly recommend following this story if you want to be alerted when this story is updated,

 **Chapter 12: The Invisibility Cloak**

 **Mid-January, 1972**

 **Gryffindor Tower**

"AHHHHHHHH!" Remus screamed in terror at the same time that James shouted "COOL!"

Sirius and Peter immediately looked up from the sudden noise at their friends in surprise, both dropping their jaw as they stared at Remus.

Remus scrambled up immediately, turning in tight circles and wriggling his arms in an effort as the cloak slipped off. "AHHH! What if it permanently erases my lower body?"

" _Relax!_ Your body's back now! You really think my father's going to give me something that makes you invisible forever?" James beamed in awe as he picked up the cloak from the floor, gingerly sweeping any dust off it.

"Wow!" Peter sighed.

Sirius scowled, " _Now_ you're taking care of it?"

James stopped blowing dust off of the cloak and looked up. "S'the matter with _you_?"

"Nothing."

"Uh-huh. Of all people, I thought you would be the most excited about this!"

"Oh, please, James. It's not like you were that excited either."

"Well I wasn't until I found out what it could really do!"

"You're so ungrateful! You should've been thankful for it either way!"

"I am! I just didn't know what to do with it before!"

"Oh, really? No offense, James, but you're kind of a spoiled brat."

Remus and Peters' eyes popped wide open.  
"NO OFFENSE? HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO NOT TAKE OFFENSE TO THAT? WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU? YOU'VE BEEN ALL MOODY EVER SINCE HOLIDAY! IF YOU'RE MAD AT ME, WHATEVER I DID IT ISN'T MY FAULT!"

"I'M. NOT. MAD. AT. YOU! _NOT_ EVERYTHING IS ABOUT YOU!"

"THEN _WHY_ ARE YOU BEING SO DIFFICULT?"

"I'm NOT being difficult! Sometimes you just need someone to tell you to deflate your big head!"

"I already have someone! EVANS! What are you, now, friends with her?"

"OH-kay!" Remus yelled. "I think that's enough, right?"

"Shut up, Remus!" Sirius yelled.

"Hey!" James yelled, looking offended. "What did he do to you?"

"Just shut up, James!"

"You shut up!"

"Stop!" Remus pleaded. "Please! Stop it!"

"Stay out of this!"

Peter scrambled up but not before Sirius' arm accidentally wacked him across the face.

James' eyes bulged. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

"That was an accident!"

"Oh, sure! You want to know what was an accident? Your birth!"

Sirius lunged at James.

"Ah!" Remus screamed. "Stop! Peter, help!"

The two boys stood tugging at Sirius' and James' shirts, trying to untangle the bunch of fists.

"WHAT is going ON?" The tall, Gryffindor stood above them, her hazel eyes burning in anger and her hands on her hips. Her prefect badge gleamed against her robes.

Peter and Remus stared up at her, while James and Sirius did not seem to recognize her appearance, continuously throwing punches at each other.

"Pathetic," the Prefect hissed as she lunged over the boys and within one tug on each of their shirts pulled them apart.

Their arms still flailing and reaching out for each other, the Prefect turned the boys around to face her. "Of course it's you two. McGonagall told me you would be trouble. I haven't had the pleasure of giving you boys detention yet, somehow, but I suppose today's my day, isn't it?"

James and Sirius stopped throwing their arms out, but continued to hold a look of menace in their eyes.

"To McGonagall's office we go, then. I'm sure she'll love this. One detention already and we just returned from holiday," the Prefect sniggered.

She dragged the boys out of the common room by the collars of their shirts, leaving Remus and Peter dumbfounded.

"What was that all about?" Peter said.

"Dunno."

"If you ask me, Sirius' been bitten by a werewolf or something, the way he's acting all savage."

Remus' face paled. "Wha-what?"

"What?"

"Nothing, never-nevermind."

Peter stared at Remus in confusion.

"Hey, Remus, Peter," a voice chirped as Marlene crawled through the portrait hole, followed by Lily. "Where's James and Sirius?"

"Detention, probably," Peter shrugged.

"Already?"

"Why do you sound so surprised?" Remus answered dryly.

"Dunno. That's rather funny, really."

"I know _I'm_ not surprised." Remus, Peter, and Marlene turned around to Lily, who was no longer quietly standing behind Marlene. "Quite predictable, really. Who'd they prank this time?"

"Er…." Remus started.

"Nobody," Peter answered.

"Than what did they destroy this time?"

"Er…."

"Nothing."

"Than which room did they sack this time?"

"Er…"

"Nothing."

"THAN WHAT DID THEY DO?"

"Er…"

"Er…" Peter looked up at Remus for a reply.

"Just a fight," Remus said dismissively.

"So I was right the first time, than. So, who did they fight with?"

"Er…"

"Eachother."

"Peter!"

"What?"

"You weren't supposed to tell them!"

"I wasn't?"

"No!"

"Nobody told me that!"

"Nobody needed to!"

"What do you mean, they fought with each other?" Lily asked incredulously.

"What do _you_ mean, they fought with each other? Isn't it self-explanatory enough?" Remus snapped.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Remus immediately apologized. "I don't know why I'm so frustrated."

"Yes, well, you _should_ be sorry. And I don't care what happened between those two idiots, so I'm going up to the dormitory now." Lily flicked her scarf over her shoulder and marched up the stairs staunchly.

"I'll go deal with her, I suppose," Marlene sighed, following Lily up the stairs.

"I wonder what's up with her," Peter said.

" _I_ wonder what's up with _Sirius_ ," Remus said.

"Dunno, but I suppose we'll find out soon."


	14. Chapter 13

Short chapter! Hope you enjoy!

 **Chapter 13: Idiot Boy**

 **Mid-January 1972**

 **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

The hallways were dimly lit as the stars twinkled against the sky. The castle was quiet, with the occasional murmur as a student whisked through a corridor to get to their dormitory.

Severus sat curled in the Potions supply closet, hugging his knees close to his chest and rocking gently back and forth. There was some sort of aura encircling the room as the potions supplies sat ever so still along their shelves, some the potential to poison, others the potential to heal.

Severus stared at the empty classroom through the doorway of the closet, He hated Potter. He hated Potter and his little cronie, Black. Especially Black, the boy was supposed to be in Slytherin. He was a perfect example of a spoiled idiot who had wasted his pureblood. Severus hoped that Black at least got some sort of punishment for being in Gryffindor.

And Potter...oh, did Severus have a lot to say about Potter. The boy was absolutely spoiled and got all of the attention he could ever want. Nobody ever seemed to notice how idiotic and cruel he was. Severus had never expected a bully to have so many friends and attract so much attention. Only a true idiot boy could become so popular through being a lunatic prat.

At times, Severus wished he could just graduate Hogwarts already. He didn't want to go home, because he was so tired of his parents' constant bickering.

A tear rolled down Severus' cheek. He had really relied on Hogwarts as being his home, but instead he was being bullied. He was being surrounded by yelling all over again, and in a way, it wasn't any different than what he heard at home.

Perhaps that was one reason why Severus loathed James and Sirius so much, because the way they yelled at him and targeted his flaws was really quite similar to his parents' behaviors at home. But it didn't matter to Snape, because to him, they were all idiots.


	15. Chapter 14

Hey guys! Double post, to make up for not posting in a while! Last chapter was very short, so decided to make up for that by making this chapter quite long, at least compared to the last few chapters. Anyways, enjoy! Promise I will update this story more often and that this series will be finished. Can't wait for years six and seven of this story when the story gets extra interesting! Make sure you are following this story to be alerted about new chapters!

 **Chapter 14: Petrificus Totalus**

 **Late January 1972**

 **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry**

"Ok…" Remus awkwardly tried to ignite conversation. They sat in the Gryffindor boys dormitory, Remus sitting in the middle of a small circle as James and Sirius sat across from each other, arms crossed and refusing to look at each other.

"Do you, do you want to er, apologise to each other?"

The boys each gave a side-eye glare at Remus, and then went back to staring fixedly at the wall next to them.

"Look, you'll never be friends again if you don't apologise. We're supposed to be friends, right? Please apologise! You two can't act like this forever! We're going to be in the same dormitory for seven years of our life!"

"Well, than I'll just move over to Slytherin dormitory, won't that make everyone happy?" Sirius spat.

"But you're in Gryffindor." James huffed. He quickly glanced at Sirius, and then looked back at his wall.

"Exactly," Sirius responded.

"What is your point?" James snapped.

Remus glared at James. "Don't use that tone, James! That's not making things better!" Remus cleared his throat awkwardly and looked at Sirius. "But, uh…what _is_ your point, Sirius?"

"Nothing," Sirius grumbled.

Everyone shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

"I think it would just be better if I were in Slytherin."

"But you can't switch houses."

"Maybe I could, if it would really make everyone happier."

"What are you trying to say? None of us want you to leave Gryffindor! Right, James?"

James glared at Remus. "I guess."

"I'm not only talking about you guys' opinions," Sirius said. He shifted uncomfortably.

"Well then who are you talking about?"

"Nobody."

"Oh, please. Who is it?"

"Fine." Sirius finally made eye contact with everybody. "My parents."

James immediately felt a hand of guilt punch him in the gut. He had entirely forgotten that his best friend's parents were Slytherins, and that they might be disappointed that Sirius was a Gryffindor. James thought about how Sirius' Christmas break must have went.

There was an awkward silence. "I'm sorry," James finally said, his tone changing completely from sharp to gentle and sincere. "I forgot. Were they upset that you were in Gryffindor?"

Sirius scoffed. "Not just upset, they were furious. Everyone in my family's been in Slytherin. Done. Period. End of story."

"Really?" Peter asked. "Every one of them?"

"Every one of them," Sirius confirmed.

"Well, how did they take it?" Remus asked. "It couldn't have been a surprise. Didn't you write to them telling them your house before Christmas break?"

Sirius cringed.

Remus eyes' widened. "You didn't tell them what house you were in? How come they didn't ask?"

"They wrote once and I threw it in the garbage. Didn't bother to respond. I don't think telling them beforehand would've made it much better, anyways."

"Weren't they worried about you?" Remus asked.

"Dunno. Probably not, knowing them."

"I'm sorry," James said again. "That's horrible."

"Yeah, to say the least," Sirius grumbled.

"I'm sure they'll come to terms with it," Remus assured Sirius. "There's no way they could be disappointed in you forever."

Sirius didn't answer, but stared across the room out the window instead.

"Can we go to dinner now?" Peter whined.

All three of the boys turned their heads to look at Peter, confused at his unconcern for Sirius.

"What?" Peter asked. "Oh, yes. I'm sorry, Sirius. That really is horrible. I don't know what I'd do with parents like that."

"Er, thanks. That came straight from the heart, huh?"

Peter opened his mouth slightly.

"Anyways, let's get dinner. I'm starved," Sirius continued. He jumped up and ran out the door. "Race you to the Great Hall?"

James grinned widely, and stood up and darted after the sprinting Sirius. Remus jogged behind, smiling too, as Peter struggled to keep up with the boys.

* * *

The boys were fast asleep in the first year Gryffindor boys dormitory. Their chests gently rising and falling, with Peter's serene snores in the background, only James appeared to be awake. In his hands, he fingered the fabric on his invisibility cloak.

As he watched the swishy, shining material move between his fingers, he thought about his father, and his mother as well. How lucky he was that they both loved him so much. Except, he was sure that Sirius parents must also love him so much as well. James was sure that their anger would just be temporary. It seemed impossible to James that a child's parents could ever stop loving their child.

James turned on his side and looked at Sirius' bed. After all, James thought, if his child were to end up in Slytherin, he would be angry as well, wouldn't he? James thought about it deeply. Would he? Perhaps he would be disappointed for a second, but he didn't think it would be enough to be furious at his child. After all, it wasn't really their decision, right? It was the Sorting hat's. _Nevermind_ , James thought. _It's too complicated for me to think about. I'll figure it out later._

James cuddled the cloak next to him, keeping it as close to his body as he could. He suddenly missed his parents greatly, and could not wait to see them again that summer. Until then, he would have as much fun at Hogwarts for his first year as he possibly could.

Peacefully, James fell asleep, ready for mischief the next day.

* * *

"Petrificus Totalus!" James chanted as a rat scurried past, only to be frozen by James' curse.

The other first years gathered around oohed and aahed, impressed by James' skill. Sirius was cheering in the back, Remus looking interested, and Peter squirming with what seemed a look of horror.

Earlier that day, the Gryffindor's had been in Defense Against the Dark Arts class, where they learned their first curse, _Petrificus Totalus_ , the body-bind curse.

Now, James was demonstrating his new knowledge at the edge of the lake, during his free period. Happy with the looks of awe, James puffed his chest out slightly. He looked around at his small crowd with satisfaction. He saw a few students he recognized, but noticed some of his fellow Gryffindors were missing. As he looked around, he spotted his target sitting at the edge of the lake, pointing at something in the water as her dark red hair turned bright underneath the winter sun.

James felt a small pang of hurt in his chest. The girl never seemed interested in him. He was able to please all of his other classmates, well except for the Slytherins of course, but it was always Lily who simply ignored him. Suddenly feeling in the spirit to satisfy her, James shouted "Oi, Evans!"

Lily turned around, and as soon as she saw who was waving at her, turned back around and continued looking at the water with, ah, Severus.

Annoyance gripped James as he watched Severus observing the lake with Lily. How in the world does _Snivelly_ please Evans, James thought.

James walked over towards Severus. As he paraded down the hill towards the lake, he felt the eyes of his classmates following his back. "Oi, Snivellus! How's your day going?"

Severus looked up, unsure what to do except glare at James.

"What do you want, Potter?" Lily demanded.

"What, Evans?" James asked, throwing his hands up as if surrendering. "I just want to have a simple conversation with Snivelly!"

"Go have a conversation with someone else," Lily snapped.

"Yeah, leave us alone. Or we'll feed you to the giant squid," Severus snickered.

"Yeah, it's real," Lily continued. "We just saw it," she said in a firm tone, pointing at the lake water.

"Did you?" James asked.

"Pretty sure."

"Well, that doesn't scare me. Of course, I don't know if I could say the same for Snivelly, here."

"Why would it scare _me_?" Severus asked loathingly.

"Oh, I dunno," James sighed, feigning confusion. "Perhaps it's because you're greasy, ugly, dumb. How are you brave if you're not in the House of Bravery?"

"Hey! That was _not_ nice!" Lily spat as Severus suddenly got up and pulled out his wand.

"Sev-" Lily began, until she was interrupted by James shouting "Petrificus Totalus!"

Severus froze, his legs and arms snapping around his body and falling over on his back, his wand tumbling to the dry grass.

Lily shrieked. "Potter!"

"Ha! You thought you could make a move quicker than me, huh?" James asked Severus knowingly. He grinned with satisfaction and turned to answer Lily. "Yes, Evans?"

Lily's eyes widened in anger. "Undo it, Potter! Undo it! How can you just go around cursing people like that? Undo it, I tell you!"

"Or what?" James asked casually, still smiling.

Lily looked furious, her green eyes blazing. "Or, or I will tell McGonagall!"

James' grin faltered a little, but he pulled it back up almost as quickly as he had dropped it. "Go ahead, Evans. Tell Minnie. Won't do you any good."

"That was amazing, mate!" Sirius chortled, joining James.

"No, it wasn't!" Lily fumed. "We have to do something! Poor Sev, he's just lying there! Do something! Undo it!"

"You just told me to do it, and then undo it," James said. "Do fix your logic, Evans."

"That's not what I meant, Potter, and you know it! Now undo it!"

"What did you do this time, Potter and Black?" A severe voice came swiftly walking up to them.

"Professor McGonagall! Thank goodness you're here!" Lily gasped in relief.

"Professor!" James and Sirius said in surprise simultaneously.

"Yes, it is me," McGonagall hissed. With a flick of her wand, Severus' body unfroze. He looked around, stunned, and then turned his eyes furiously on James. " _You_!"

"Yes, me. Professor, I was only practicing Defense against the Dark arts!"

"And so you thought it alright to disregard our rule of no spell-casting outside the classroom?"

"I'm sorry, Professor. I must have forgotten. But clearly, I did no harm. Look, he is perfectly fine!"

"Yes, he is, but nevertheless you performed a spell - a curse, actually, outside of the classroom and you have yet again harassed Mister Snape. You are both to come with me to my office. Potter, is it ever possible for you to avoid trouble? Now, follow. Wait 'till Dumbledore hears you're at it again."

Reluctantly, James and Severus followed McGonagall. Severus wanted to open his mouth in protest, to say he hadn't done anything, but he knew better than to argue with McGonagall.

The boys disappeared up the hill, trudging along in the winter grass.

"Hey, at least _I_ avoided detention this time," Sirius chuckled, only to receive an icy cold glare from Lily.


	16. Chapter 15

**A/N:** Here's Chapter 15! Getting super close to finishing Year 1 and moving on to Year 2! Exciting things are coming! Until then, make sure to follow and favorite this story if you like it to be notified about story updates! Please leave any ideas/comments/questions in the review section if you have any! Thank you guys so much! You are amazing!

 **Chapter 15: What happened to Gryffindor?**

 **Early February 1972**

 **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

Lily hurried towards the Great Hall for breakfast, her small legs scurrying past the older kids gathered in the corridor, which was loud with gossip.

Lily was already behind her schedule, having to meet up with her friends for breakfast late rather than normally walking with them every morning. As she rounded the turn into the Great Hall, commotion more than usual filled her ears, not helping her morning drowsiness.

"Lily!" Marlene exclaimed as Lily swung her leg over the bunch and dropped her face into her hands.

" _What?_ " Lily asked, although her tone made it sound more like a statement than a question.

"You won't believe it, Lils!" What Marlene said should've sounded like something good, but Marlene's tone indicated quite the opposite.

"What?" Lily asked again, picking a biscuit off a plate. It really was the perfect start to her day, wasn't it?

"Our points are all-"

"Gone!" Gwenog finished for Marlene, exasperated.

"Well, alright then," Marlene said. "Could've said it myself, you know."

"Yes, I know," Gwenog answered dismissively. "Anyways, can you believe it? Gone! We're at zero points!"

"What? Impossible!" Lily said in denial. "What could we have done? Let me see the hour glass!"

Marlene placed her hand on Lily's head like a bird claw, and twisted Lily's head towards the hourglass.

Lily stared as she processed the empty hourglass. How was it even possible for a House to lose the entirety of their House points?

The other girls watched in amusement as Lily's brows furrowed together. "Potter."

"What?" The other girls all asked in unison to Lily's random declaration.

"Potter. And Black."

The girls all glanced at each other, shrugging as each of them looked to one another for an answer, but they were all left bewildered.

"It was Potter and Black!" Lily suddenly shrieked, and the girls all ducked, putting their hands protectively over their ears.

"What was Sirius and I, Evans?" A chirpy voice sang.

Lily whipped her head around in annoyance. "Tell me what you did, Potter."

"What are you talking about, Evans?" Sirius asked in confusion.

"Let Potter speak for himself."

"I'm with Sirius, Evans. What are you on about?"

"Have you not seen our hourglass, you dimwits?"

The boys simultaneously looked over at the hourglasses and their smiles faltered for a moment, before picking right back up.

"Explain yourselves!"

"Woah, aren't you being a little too quick to blame? Who ever even told you it was _us_?"

"Ha! So you confess! It _was_ you two!"

"That's not what I meant! I was trying to say, 'why would you automatically assume it was us?'"

"You know why, Potter!"

"Fine. But it couldn't have all been us. Why don't you consider that some other people might have drained a few of the points?"

"Because nobody else is as idiotic as you two!"

"Ouch, Evans," James and Sirius said at the same time.

Sirius put a hand over his heart. "You're really very hurtful, Evans."

"Shut up, Black. Now tell me what you two did."

"Nothing."

"Oh, please, Potter. You know that isn't going to get you anywhere," Gwenog grumbled as she chewed on a biscuit.

"Fine," Sirius stood up straighter. "We just went out on a small nighttime adventure, and Professor McGonagall caught us a few times and over exaggerated the entire thing. That's all."

Lily narrowed her eyes. "A nighttime adventure cost around 700 points?"

James and Sirius' eyes both flickered around.

"Come off it, Evans. We already told you, McGonagall exaggerated. She wasn't in her finest state when she caught us."

"You're hiding something," Lily said simply.

"Tell us, Black," Marlene sighed as she toyed with her food, looking unentertained. "It's not that hard to spit out something stupid."

"Ouch, McKinnon. You should really stop hanging around Evans so often. It's taking quite a negative effect on your attitude."

"Shut it, Black, and tell us what you two did already. We're the embarrassment of the school right now, all thanks to you idiots. Oh, the lecture we'll get from Henry Fawley. The last thing we want is to listen to our Head Boy punish us all for something the two of you did. So, come on, now, and own up to it."

James wrinkled his nose in annoyance. "Ok, so we met someone during our midnight stroll. We just had a chat and Minnie was over-reactive. Must've had a bad day."

"Oh, yes," Sirius agreed. "D'you see her hair? 'Twas all frizzled," Sirius hovered his hands next to his head, demonstrating an afro.

Lily ignored him as her eyes were now slits so that only a sliver of green was beaming through. "Was that certain someone named Severus Snape and did that certain chat happen to involve more wand command talk than friendly talk?"

"Well, if you ask me, Evans. Wand commands are quite friendly. Great for practice."

"You are making no sense of your logic, right now! Now answer me! Am I right?!"

"Possibly."

Alice groaned. "Just tell us, boys. Don't think we won't find out anyways."

"Fine," Sirius said. "Since you girls seem to care about us so much…"

"Oh, shove it, Black. As if we care about you! What we care about is where all our house points went!"

"Well, you see, it's a little thing called magic…"

The girls are erupted in groans and snappy comments.

"Okay, jeez. So we hexed Snivel-"

"Wasn't it a curse?"

"Fine, Sirius. So we cursed Snivellus a little bit."

Lily's cheeks flamed red with anger. "I knew it. Why can't you two just leave him alone for one day? _One_ day! That's all I ask! But no, you two just have to go bully him to the point that you hunt him down at night! At. Night. How ridiculous are you two?"

"We didn't hunt him _down_!"

Lily clearly did not seem to hear this as her cheeks began to match her hair. "What has he ever done to you? Nothing, is the answer. Absolutely nothing. Just let that sink into your miniscule heads for a second, will you? You are both just two little, useless, careless, childish, immature prats!"

With a dramatic gesture, Lily picked up her bag, swung herself over the bench and stormed out.

As she left the Great Hall, their eyes all followed her back in silence.

"Where's she off to, you reckon?" James asked.

"Snivelly, of course. She's gonna go rat us out."

"You _stupid_ prat, Black! How's he gonna rat you out if he already knows you cursed him?"

"No need to be so angry like Evans, McKinnon."

"Honestly, though, boys," Mary said, her voice in all seriousness. "Just stop with the hexing. Maybe it seemed funny to you guys early, but now you're just shaming our entire house at the cost of your fun."

Mary walked out towards class, and the other girls followed suit, giving half-smiles of sympathy and shrugs to the boys.

* * *

By dinnertime, news of Gryffindor's, or perhaps, Sirius and James', drainage of House of points had spread rapidly through the school.

"What happened to Gryffindor?" One would ask in the hall.

And without having to ask what they meant, another would answer "Potter and Black."

And the person who asked would just stifle a laugh and simply say "Ah."

As James and Sirius walked through the corridors, they felt all their schoolmates' eyes on them, some looking sympathetic, some looking amused, and others giggling or laughing.

James rolled his eyes. "They're just jealous because they couldn't lose this many points."

Remus cleared his throat. "Er...James, I wouldn't quite call it jealousy."

"Tsk, looks as if you're getting a bit jealous, too, mate," Sirius said.

"How would I be jealous, Sirius? You just lost all of Gryffindor's House Points!"

"Hey, James was part of it too…"

Remus ignored him or didn't hear him. "Do you know how embarrassing this is? We look horrible! This is certainly the last thing you should be proud of! What were you thinking, going out at night and attacking Snape? Going out at night is enough when McGonagall first found you and took off one hundred points each! Was that not enough to make you two turn back? But no, you had to go and attack Snape! Attacking Snape! At night as well, for goodness sake. Who even knew it was possible to lose all House points so quickly. Where did you think attacking Snape was going to take you? Because if you were thinking _more_ house points, you must be as stupid as Evans thinks you are."

"Woah! Calm down, Remus. And there's no need to insult us now," James said in a rather sharp tone.

"I don't care! I'll insult you all I want! For goodness sake, you lost ALL OF OUR HOUSE POINTS!"

"Keep it down, will you?" Peter hissed as students in the corridor all turned and looked at the boys.

"Oh, you too, now, huh?" Remus went on. "All you do is support those two. You never see any wrong in what they're doing! As long as you three get attention you're satisfied. How selfish you really are!"

"Oh, come on, Remus...Bugger off, we told you already it was an accident so stop making it seem like we intentionally tried to lose all our house points."

"Really, Sirius? Think about it again, and maybe you'll find it really was intentional." With that, Remus stormed off to the Great Hall.

"Man, someone's moody today," James grunted.

"Yeah, that's certainly one way to see it," Sirius scoffed.

"Should we go talk to him?"

"I suppose."

"I reckon we really have destroyed our reputations already as first years."

"It's fine, James. We're still the top of the class! Or, at least, you are," Sirius corrected himself with a careless shrug.

As Peter and Sirius complained about Remus' endless lectures and complex attitudes, James quietly thought about what Remus had said to him.

James was starting to get annoyed by how easily Remus was getting set off. It was always close to whenever he came back from his monthly visits to his mother. James felt a twinge of guilt. Poor Remus, James figured he shouldn't be too mean to him with his mother's situation.

He thought about Remus' question. Did James intentionally try to dock points? After all, he knew there'd be a consequence. Didn't he? Was he really as stupid as Remus and...James cringed, Lily believed? James felt a tingle of annoyance creep up at Lily. Why couldn't she just relax a bit? Why did she have to be so tense and yell at him all the time? Now Remus was beginning to act like her, James sulked. James felt like his first year at Hogwarts hadn't been at such a low point before. He really was starting to soak in the humiliation he'd brought his House.

 **A/N:** Okay, a few things to clear up. Yes, it is possible to lose all the House points with people like young James and Sirius, so don't me. Secondly, I know the vocabulary is a little blunt right now, but you have to remember that they were only 11 during their first year, so it's not like they really used big words on a regular basis. Anyways, thank you so much for reading! You have no idea how much I appreciate it!


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